


The Marked Ones

by themarkedones



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blood, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Death, F/M, Horror, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 21:59:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 92,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1242142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themarkedones/pseuds/themarkedones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><br/>"<i>She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).</i>"<br/>— Lewis Carroll</p>
  <p>Kat Samuels, a lover of poetry and red wine, was searching for something she feared she’d never find.</p>
  <p>Harry Styles, a lover of women like Kat, was just searching for his next target.</p>
  <p>When their pursuits place them in each other’s paths, Kat finds that the boy that was holding a knife to her<br/>neck was now putting his own neck on the line to save them both from the dark side of London that no one<br/>talked about.</p>
  <p>Can Harry protect Kat and himself from a deadly punishment, or will they both perish in a terrifying game<br/>of cat and mouse?</p>
  <p>"You know what they say: <i>Curiosity <b>killed</b> the Kat.</i>"<br/></p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> VERY GRAPHIC VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT STORY.  
>   
> 

The moon hung high over the young girl’s head as she ambled down the sidewalk towards her home. She had been at a bar and was feeling a bit woozy, but definitely not drunk yet. She was still sober enough to navigate home with no problem.

As she was walking, she pulled her phone out to text her friend that she was almost home. After the latest crime spree that was taking over the town, everyone was on edge, but she really couldn’t care. Things like that never hit close to home. People always overreacted, and once this was over, they’d move on to the next big news break that would happen.

Above her, thunder rumbled. “Ah great,” she mumbled, tucking her phone into the safety of her pocket. She pulled her hood over her head and picked up the pace. After a few more steps, she heard soft footsteps walk out from a side street and start behind her. It wasn’t strange for the bars to be letting out at this time of night, so she didn’t think much of it.

But then, the footsteps started to speed up a little bit, growing closer and closer. The person was long legged, able to take one step and match three steps from the short girl in front of him. After just a few moments, he was right behind her, and her heart was starting to race. Hadn’t he ever heard of personal space?

She quickened her pace and moved over to the side of the walkway, trying to let him pass around her. Instead, he stepped right behind her again, his shoes clicking hard against the concrete below him. She glanced over her shoulder only the slightest, but couldn’t make out anything on the figure behind her. He was tall and obviously stronger than her, but the darkness of the night hid his features from being identified by the girl.

Speeding up a little bit, she stuffed her hand in her pocket, grasping her phone just in case. This wasn’t the first time some dick had followed her from a bar and tried to take advantage of her, but this time there was something different. Usually those guys would have grabbed her the moment they laid eyes on her, but this guy was almost teasing her. He would let her get just a bit ahead of him for just a short amount of time before he extended his steps and closed in on her.

Before long, she was sprinting down the street, her breathing coming out in gasping breaths. The man behind her didn’t speed up at all. It was almost like one of those horror movies where the girl is running like crazy and the killer doesn’t have to try to catch up to her. Somehow he always got the catch, and this time wouldn’t be any different.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and was frantically dialing a number, any number, to call someone who could help her, but the phone call never happened.

What would a horror movie be without the damsel in distress tripping and falling?

As if written in a script, the girl fell hard against the sidewalk, her head slamming into the ground. This made the stalker’s job a lot easier, seeing as how the fall had caused her phone to crush underneath her, along with her hand. She tried to push herself up from the ground, but her hand crippled underneath her. A broken wrist was the least of her troubles though, as she would soon find out. Whimpering softly as she rolled herself over, the girl lifted her uninjured hand to her forehead, feeling the warm, sticky blood seeping from the gash that was now split across her skull. Lights flashed around in her vision and she suddenly felt woozy. 

She was just about to pass out when a figure stepped right in front of her. “Oh God, please,” she begged softly. The man reached down, grabbed the hair right at the top of her head, and started dragging her back towards an alley behind them. She struggled and thrashed and fought, but it was doing her no good. This man had her, and there was no telling what he was going to do to her.

He let go of her hair as soon as they reached the back of the alley, but before she could try to scramble away, he was straddling her waist and staring down at her. This was the first chance she got to get a good look of the man, and what she saw stunned her.  
She knew her attacker.

He pulled out a large knife from the inside pocket of his coat and held it to her neck, a sinister smile forming on his lips. He was waiting. Waiting for the perfect moment to finish this.

“So pretty,” he murmured, running a finger down her frightened face. Her tears slid out of her eyes and she quickly tried to blink them away. “Such a good little girl.” She opened her mouth to scream out his name, but the only thing that came out was the beginning of a piercing, blood curdling scream. The figure edged the knife into the soft skin at the base of her neck, turning the scream into a gurgle as the blood slowly filled her windpipe.

Kat jerked her head towards her open window, hearing the faint cry from a few streets over. She quickly rushed over to it and peeked her head out, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The man from downstairs was coming in from a late night shift at the local diner and a dog was running down the street, hungrily searching for scraps of food. Nothing strange.

She backed away from the window after just a moment. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kat shut the window and drew the blinds closed.

_Maybe I should have called the police right then. If I had, maybe none of this would have ever happened. But was I really supposed to know who was behind the scream that I had heard that night? No one could have guessed. Not even me, apparently._

_So, I went on with my regular life. I shut that window and turned a blind eye. That was probably the worst thing I could have done. But here I am, after everything that happened. And honestly, if you asked me now, I don’t know if I would have changed a thing._

The next day, Kat shuffled into work, balancing a few boxes precariously in her arms. “Kat!” Kim laughed, rushing over to help. “Why didn’t you wait for me to help?” Kim took one of the boxes from the younger girl and carried it over to the main island counter.

“I had it!” Kat replied with smile. She followed behind Kim and placed the remaining box beside the other. 

“So independent.” Her coworker gave her a smirk held out a coffee towards the girl. 

“Always have been,” Kat smiled, taking the cup. “Thanks. I was running late and couldn’t stop.”

“I figured. You didn’t respond to my text, so I knew.” She sipped the coffee slowly, savoring the warmth. 

After setting her drink down beside the computer, she flipped through the clipboard in front of her. “Not many shipments coming in today?”

“No, not really. I think we’ve got it pretty easily, actually. You could probably cut out at lunch if you wanted.” Kat nodded.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” The work day went by quickly, and around noon, Kat shrugged her coat on and grabbed her stuff to leave. “Oh, hey,” she said as she turned to face Kim, “did my books come in?” 

“Goodness, I almost forgot.” Kim set down the books she was holding and turned to a shelf under the counter, grabbing two books that were sitting on it. “Here you go. Just came in this morning.” Kim glanced down at the covers before handing them over to Kat. “What are they about?”

“Oh, just some poetry books.” She held one of them up. “Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.” And the other. “A compilation of various poets.”

“Who in the world is Charles Lutwidge Dodgson?”

Kat laughed, placing the two books into her bag. “Lewis Carroll is only a penname.”

“Lewis Carroll,” Kim mused, her brows creasing in thought. “Didn’t he write Alice in Wonderland?” The other girl nodded.

“He did, he did,” she replied with a smile. 

Kim turned back to the papers in front of her, waving her hand. “Well you go have fun with Mr. Dodgson. I’ll be here cataloging.” Kat laughed again and walked towards the door.

“Call me if you need me.” Kim gave her a small nod as she walked out the door. She made a face when she glanced up at the gloomy sky. It was only lunch time, but you couldn’t tell it from how thick the clouds were. 

When she had moved here from the states, she hadn’t considered just how different the weather would be. Chicago wasn’t the nicest place, but she didn’t understand how the people of London dealt with the more than regular cloud cover. Numerous times, she had thought about packing up her bags and moving to somewhere tropical, spending her days on the beach with a good book and a margarita. 

But she found that no matter how many times she moaned about leaving, she hung around the melancholy city in search of something she was losing hope on. 

Kat strode down the sidewalk, making a mental note of everything she needed to grab at the grocery store that evening, until she saw flashing lights ahead. Police officers blocked off the path to an alley off to the side, so she crossed over to the other side of the street to continue. 

Being the curious person she was, she glanced down the alley as she started to pass.  
Instantly, she felt sick, and she cursed her nosy nature. She caught a glimpse of a large pool of blood puddled around something under a sheet, which she could only guess was a body crumpled on the ground. A crowd had gathered on the side of the street she was attempting to walk on, obviously interested.

As she attempted to push through, Kat heard snippets of conversations that were being murmured in hushed tones. “He’s struck again,” one woman whispered to her husband. “Third one this week,” another woman exhaled against the palm of her hand, looking just as faint as Kat felt. “Sick bastard,” a man scoffed.

Kat finally made it through the maze and she didn’t look back one time. When her apartment building came into view, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Her night was all planned for her. A nice, quiet bubble bath, followed by a glass or two of red wine while flipping through her new books. Quiet. Peaceful. 

She smiled to herself as she entered her small flat. Even if it was pretty small compared to where she used to live back home, she enjoyed it. It was only her in there and, as Kim had said before, she was very independent and enjoyed the solidarity. Sometimes though, when the moon was sitting just right and she’s almost afraid to look at the time on the clock, Kat would start to feel that sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. She would start to miss home and everything she left behind for what she felt like may have turned out to be a wild goose chase.

She couldn’t give up now, though. She had come too far and gotten too close to just pack up and run back home with her tail tucked between her legs. She couldn’t tell her mom, “You were right.”

Not just yet.

Kat let out a sigh and placed the books on the coffee table before reaching back and letting her long hair fall from the ponytail it rested in. How long until she could go back home and admit she was wrong? Admit that everyone who called her dumb, naïve, and immature were right in thinking all of that? Kat held too much pride in her own self to scamper back into her mother’s arms just yet. 

But God, did it sting when she realized she had no one anymore. She wished she could drop her head and declare her failure just so she could have her family around her again. 

One day, she’d find someone and wouldn’t have to deal with the loneliness of being isolated in such a crowded city— which was by far the worst type of loneliness there was out there. Having all those people around you and absolutely no one to turn to; having no one at all to trust and rely on. 

Sure, Kim was a friend to Kat. They enjoyed each other’s company. But that wasn’t what Kat was aching for.

She wanted someone that was there for her, no matter what. Someone that you could tell your deepest, darkest secrets too, and no matter how nasty they are, they accept them and help you overcome them. They help you fight the demons of your past. They overlook everything you’ve done, and focus on the future. The future _together_.

Kat huffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes. At the rate she was going, it would be years before she found that person. She had left a three year relationship to move to London, which of course, didn’t go over well with her parents. “You’ll always be alone if you keep running,” her mom had told her. “You’ll never be happy. No boy is ever going to like you if you don’t let your guard down.”

And yet, three desolate years later, Kat still hadn’t taken her mother’s advice.  
So here she was on a perfectly date-worthy night, curled up alone in her bed reading the works of dead poets.

At least she treated herself to a nice glass of wine. 

Find her a boy that will sit with her for hours in silence as she drowns herself in lyrical poetry and good drink, and she’d marry him the moment he asked. It was hard finding guys who had the same sort of personality and drive that she had. If she could just find someone who was after the same things as her, she would be set. She wanted someone who would never back down for her. Someone that was as dedicated to her as she was to them.

Hopefully, sooner than later, Kat would find that person.

But for now, she had plenty of bottles of wine in the fridge and Lewis Carroll speaking to her, and that was all she needed.

For now.


	2. Chapter 2

_London was especially beautiful during the winter. When the snow caught the glow from an overhead streetlight just right, it looked like thousands of tiny diamonds shimmering in the air. I guess I was too busy admiring the new scenery to notice how my gut was telling me danger was around. You know that feeling where your body is screaming at you to flee from something there to harm you? Apparently I’m the only one who completely ignores a natural born instinct. I didn’t realize just what I was walking straight into. I’ll never forget that night..._

“This is just getting worse and worse,” Mr. Roberts sighed. He was the owner and founder of Roberts Bookstore, and had been running it since the doors opened many years ago.

Kat glanced over at the man who was shaking his head towards the computer screen in front of him. “What is, sir?” she asked as she walked over towards him.

“There was another murder.” 

The words hit Kat hard. “Another?” Mr. Roberts nodded as Kat reached his side.

“You told me about what you saw when you were heading home yesterday evening. Well, they just found another body about two blocks over from there.”

“Oh my God,” she exhaled as she peered over his shoulder at the article on the screen.

“Police are saying another victim has been found in connections to the London murder spree,” Mr. Roberts read. “Not many details are known at this moment, but we have learned that the victim was a female in her late 20’s. A name will be released once the family has been notified.” Kat shivered slightly while her boss sighed. “People are sick. There’s a special place in hell for someone who would kill an innocent person.”

She nodded in agreement. “I feel the same way. I just don’t understand how some people fall down so far to where they feel like that’s the only option.”

“Some people are just born messed up, Kat. Those are the ones you’ve really got to watch out for.” 

Kat didn’t respond, because she felt it was wrong to disagree with her boss. In her mind though, she didn’t believe that. Nobody was “born” evil. Everyone had a choice in which path they took in life. Of course, certain personality traits and a person’s mental health helped with those choices, as well factors in the person’s life (like the situations in their life). Overall though, it was up to the individual to decide how their life played out.

 

A few hours later, Kat packed up her stuff and gave a small wave to Mr. Roberts on her way out of the shop.

Kat huddled deeper into her long, black coat, searching for any little bit of heat she could find. Even though she had been living in London for three years, she was not used to the frigid temperatures that were to be expected during the winter months. It was a long walk from the bookstore she worked at to her home, so when she saw a small coffee shop on the side of the street, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to warm her bones for the remainder of the journey. 

She reached the door to the cozy café and walked past a young man sitting at one of the outside tables, somehow able to bear the frosty wind. _“Must be a local,”_ she mused silently. As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by warmth which enclosed her frozen hands and nippy nose. She smiled, just thankful to be out of the snow. “One large coffee, extra sugar with milk, please,” the young foreigner ordered. She reached into her bag to pull out her wallet right as a hand slid a money note onto the counter.

“Keep the change,” a deep voice instructed. Kat glanced over to see who had paid for her coffee, and there was the gentleman who was sitting outside when she walked in.

She smiled gratefully. “You didn’t have to do that.”

The boy smiled and gave a noncommittal shrug. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to,” he responded.

“Well, thanks.” She grabbed her coffee as the worker slid it onto the counter.

“Come here often?” he asked, moving towards a table in the room. He sat down, folding his long legs under the table as he pulled his beanie off his head. Curly brown tendrils flopped over his forehead, but were soon pushed away with a scrape of his hand.

Kat sat down opposite him and responded, “Actually, no. I’ve been here for three years and I’m still discovering everything.”

“Oh really?” He grinned, instantly interested. “Where are you from originally?”

“The states.” She took a sip from her piping hot coffee, savoring the feeling as it warmed her from the inside out.

His green eyes sparkled as he leaned in towards her. He gave a nod, mulling over the information. “Where are my manners?” he laughed. “I’m Harry.”

“My name’s Kat.”

He hummed in appreciation. “Kat. What a beautiful name for such a _lovely_ girl,” he purred. Charm flowed off of him as if some kind of shield for something he had hidden. Maybe he was just a really bad speaker and had been taught to interact with confidence rather than authenticity. Maybe he was just _that good_. 

Blood rushed to Kat’s cheeks as she tried to hide her self-conscious smile. “Oh, stop,” she giggled.

“Why don’t we get out of here?” His voice got lower with these words, like he was whispering the most secret of hidden mysteries right there in the middle of that coffee shop. Harry licked his pink, plump lips deliciously, and gave her a devilish smile. 

Kat’s heart jumped to her throat upon hearing the stranger’s suggestion. And she almost said yes. Almost. 

The only thing which stopped her was the ravenous look clouding his emerald eyes. She racked her brain to place the look, knowing she had seen it before. She suddenly realized the only thing that could describe it was a wild animal about to lunge an attack on the vulnerable victim. 

She quickly stood up from the table, Harry’s eyes locked on her the whole way. “I’m... I’m sorry,” she sputtered. “I’ve got to get going.” A laugh slipped from the stranger’s lips.

“I’ll see you later then,” he retorted. “A rain check, maybe.”

She struggled for words to form a reply, but only a strangled “maybe” emerged. Kat scrambled to the door and threw it open, exiting out into the icy wind once more. 

That night, she dreamt of deadly green eyes and a laugh that sent shivers down her spine.

\----

The next day, she returned to work early. Her coworker, Kim, was already there, stocking shelves. Kat let herself in and locked the door behind her. “Oh, hey!” Kim said, turning around.

Kat waved at her as she walked behind the counter and put her bag and coat on one of the shelves.

She clocked in on the register before walking over to her friend. “What’s on the schedule for today?”

“Well, we just got in a shipment of newspapers from the local printer. You can start placing those on the shelves over there.” Kat turned, her eyes finding the stack of papers sitting beside the counter. 

“Is Mr. Roberts coming in today?” she asked as she walked over to the papers. She grabbed the string that wrapped the newspapers and drug it over towards one of the large bookshelves.

Kim finished up the books she was spreading out on one of the cases as she replied, “I don’t think so. He didn’t say anything last night about it, so I figure it’s just us.” Kat began stacking the papers onto the bookshelf when a headline caught her eye.

**Unsolved Murders Still Plague the City**

**Citizens are urged to stay indoors at all costs as the number of victims skyrocket.**

Kat held the paper in her hands, scanning over the story. “Hey, Kim, have you heard about this?” She carried the paper over towards the counter and laid it down, still reading over the words. The other girl walked over and peeked at it.

“Oh, yeah!” Kim tapped the paper with her fingertip as she passed. She walked over to the front door and flipped the closed sign to open before walking back and continuing. “My mum was telling me all about it. Apparently there’s been over, like, 20 murders just in the past month. The only thing they have in common is that they’re all girls, and they all died from a slit throat.”

Kat shivered involuntarily. “That’s just... awful. Do they have any leads yet? They didn’t when I was talking to Mr. Roberts about it yesterday.” Kim shook her head. 

“No, I don’t think so.” She made a face and turned towards Kat. “You know what’s really weird?” Kat raised an eyebrow as she listened. “How can one person kill that much? Isn’t that a bit... unbelievable?” She paused for just a moment, mulling over her thoughts. “If this person isn’t leaving _any_ trace behind, don’t you think they would have to really plan it out? This doesn’t seem like some spur of the moment thing. They’ve really thought about what they were going to do so they wouldn’t get caught.”

Kat stared at her for just a moment before cracking a smile. “So you think it’s a group of murderous friends? Isn’t that a bit more unbelievable than one person committing all of them?” Kim rolled her eyes and let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Don’t listen to me. I’m being paranoid.”

“I can see why, though. Certainly is... odd.” All day, Kat attempted to focus on the papers she needed to file and the books that were supposed to be stocked, but the incidents going on in the city kept taking first priority. Who would do something like that, and why?

 

After a few more hours of work, the sunlight was beginning to draw to an end and it was almost closing time. “Do you need help cleaning up?” Kat asked as she closed her account on the register. Kim shook her head and threw a small smile towards her over her shoulder, writing down numbers onto a piece of paper.

“Nope, I’m good. You head on home, and be careful.” The last few words sent a slight chill down Kat’s spine. Any other time, it would have just been a kind gesture, but now, they were weighted with meaning that bothered Kat more than it should. “Oh, and don’t forget, I’m not going to be here tomorrow. I’ve got to meet a woman about looking at a house. Think you can hold down the fort?”

“Oh yeah, no problem.”

“Alright then, I’ll see you later then. Call me if you need me.” She gave Kim a nod and, after grabbing her stuff and shrugging her coat on, she started the trek to her small apartment on the other side of town.

Once she was home, she locked the door behind her, checking all of the locks numerous times until she was satisfied. One shower later, she was sitting on the floor in front of her bookshelf with a glass of red wine, picking and pulling all of her old psychology books out.

Throughout her high school career and the little time she spent in college, Kat had always enjoyed studying psychology. It had helped her come to terms with certain aspects of her life that didn’t make sense without it. Maybe even three years later, it could help calm her nerves and help her understand what was going on.

She took 4 of the books to her bed and splayed them all out in front of her as she tried to decide which one to go through first. Finally, she chose the first book she had purchased when she began getting interested in studying how the brain works. _Introduction to Psychology_. Her eyes scanned over the cover before she took a sip of her wine and flipped open the book.

Kat hadn’t opened these books in around three years, and it stunned her how much she had forgotten. This used to be her life, and since moving to London, she had left all of that behind. 

She flicked through the pages for a bit, skimming over the major points and outlines at the end of the chapter. The next book she picked out was a book about mental illness, _Study of Mental Illness and Their Characteristics_ , which used to be her favorite book she owned, because the subject hit close to home. 

She skimmed for a while until she came across a section named “ _Warning Signs For Mental Illness_.” 

_Often times, there are signs that can indicate a person may be suffering from some sort of mental illness. Some of these include, but are not limited to:_  
Personality change  
Grandiose ideas, usually very unbelievable  
Extreme mood swings  
Substance abuse  
The inability to properly cope with one’s problems on a day to day basis. 

Kat huffed out a small laugh. “Grandiose ideas,” she murmured against her glass as she took another sip. “Hence why I’m sitting here in London.”

About halfway through that book, she was already finishing her second glass of wine, and decided to call it quits for the night. 

She swayed only slightly when she stood up from the bed and moved the books to a spot on the floor against the wall. Her brain was buzzing, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the information she took in, or maybe just from the alcohol. 

Kat climbed into her bed and slid under the sheets, and it didn’t take her long to fall asleep completely and slip into a dream.

In her dream, it was as if she was viewing her body from above. She could see herself lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Rain was pelting against the window and every now and then, a flash of lightening would illuminate the room below. Everything was normal.

Then, a big streak of lightening revealed a figure standing a bit away from the bed. It was too dark to see who it was, however. Another flash of lightening, and the entity had took a step towards the bed. Kat tried to scream at herself, but no sound came out. She was useless to help. 

There was nothing she could do.

Every time the lightening would crack across the sky, the figure would inch closer and closer to the bedside, until finally, it was right in front of her face, reaching a hand up towards her cheek. Kat could almost feel the apparition’s fingertips glide slowly against her skin. She wrenched her head to the side even though she knew it wouldn’t help anything. The fingertips splayed across her cheek and suddenly, the figure was rushing his hand to the back of her head and grasping a handful of her hair. 

It was as if that movement yanked her back into her own body. Her eyes flew open and she was staring straight into the green eyes of the devil himself. A scream tore through her chest as she bolted straight up in bed, completely covered in sweat.

“Only a dream,” she muttered sleepily to herself as she glanced around the room. “You just drank too much.”

Kat laid back down in her bed and tried to calm herself down. She wasn’t one to have a lot of nightmares, but when she did, they were always very vivid and shook her to the bone. That night, she had trouble getting back to sleep, and ended up getting up an hour before her alarm went off to get ready for work.

 

Kat hoped this was just a passing phase. The events that were occurring in the city were starting to take their toll on her, but she wasn’t quite sure why. No matter what she tried to think of, her mind was always crawling back to the covered body she saw in the alley. 

Had it been someone she had seen before on the side of the street? Had this woman visited the bookstore while Kat was working? What about her family? How were they taking it?  
She felt sympathy for people she had never met before. Kat didn’t even know who this woman was, yet she found herself wanting to know more and more about her. 

After she finished getting ready for work, she still had twenty minutes to spare, so she decided to do a little digging. 

Kat clicked on an article entitled “ _Victim found in London alleyway identified_.” They hadn’t released the details of the latest victim, but Kat was mainly interested in the one she had come across on her way home.

Emma Hall was her name, she discovered. She was a 24 year old student at a local college who was studying to be a nurse. Kat clicked the gallery that was linked to the page, and was soon looking into the eyes of the girl. There was nothing spectacular about her at all. Dark hair, brown eyes, no in-your-face features. Average life, average looks. She was just all around _average_. 

The comments on the article were the typical _“Sad story. Beautiful girl.” “Who could do this to someone like that?” “This world is completely fucked up. Prayers to her family.”_

They probably didn’t even think before they posted their words. If they had actually put some thought into it, they would be asking the right questions such as “What made this killer stoop to this level?” 

Of course, not everybody thought like Kat, and she had to constantly remind herself of that. Not everybody wanted to see into the head of a deranged murderer. Most people would probably vote to toss these types of people off the face of the Earth and not think twice about it. 

Not Kat.

All her life, she wanted to know what these people felt. What they thought. What drove them to commit such unthinkable and atrocious acts.

Was it a mental condition? Had something happened in their life to make them completely snap?

Or did they just find something in the kills that only innocent blood could provide?

Whatever the reason, Kat ached to know what it was. 

She scanned through article after article, skimming through the information about the victims. No certain tie held them together, as far as she could tell. Kat shook her head softly as she closed out of the browser. “Poor girl,” she murmured. 

She couldn’t imagine what Emma’s family was going through right at that moment. They were readying themselves to bury a daughter, a poor innocent soul, and Kat hated to even think about it.

If anything like that ever happened, Kat concluded in her mind that she would much rather continue not knowing than have to see her loved one sliced up like this poor woman had been. She didn’t want to have to remember someone she cared so deeply about like that.  
What had been her last moments? What was the last thing she saw? Kat sighed as she imagined the young girl struggling at the hands of her attacker. She could only hope that she hadn’t suffered.

She finally forced herself to pull her shoes on and grab her stuff, almost unwillingly. Kat would have rather stayed in for the day and observe life through her window, but she knew she couldn’t do that. 

She couldn’t get marred down with everything that was going on. She had to continue playing her role as an unconcerned citizen in this big city, as much as she hated it.

Her life had to go on, even if Emma’s didn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

Kat laid the pen down in her journal and glanced up at the people on the train around her. Everyone was going along their normal day, just like it was any other wet, cold day. For Kat though, it was anything but. She unknowingly clenched her hand into a small fist when she thought about what she was doing. Anger welled inside her like lava about to burst from an erupting volcano, ready to explode at any moment. Before she could get too consumed by her thoughts, she picked her pen back up and continued writing to take her mind off it.

_People say dreams tell you a lot. They can tell you what you’re craving for in your life, your wants, needs, sometimes even your fears. What’s really scary though is when it’s a mix of all of those things, but you just don’t realize it yet._

_When you finally do realize though, usually, you’re in too deep at that point. There’s no turning back then._

The day went by slowly without Kat and Kim’s normal banter back and forth. It was always boring when she didn’t have anyone to chat with. However, the day was almost over and she would be able to go home and rest.

She was completely exhausted after last night. She had twisted and turned for hours on end. Whenever she would start to doze off, there would be a tiny noise that would jerk her awake, or she would think that she saw a shadow creeping along the wall. Most of it was just her mind playing tricks on her and her imagination running wild. The newspaper article that she had read the day before had really messed with her head and she just hoped that she could forget about it soon, or else she might start to question her own sanity.

Kat was sitting in front of the computer, her head held in her hands. She was starting to slip into a nap as the bell above the door rang, and she quickly jerked her head up to greet the customer. She wished immediately that she wouldn’t have.

The green eyes that consumed her the night before were focused directly on her. 

“Kat?” Harry gasped softly, walking over to her with an alluring smile. “You work here?” Kat sat silent for a moment, completely dumbstruck.

“Oh, um, yeah.” She nodded quickly and stood up, feeling a bit rude. She didn’t know this boy. Just because she had a nightmare about him didn’t mean a thing. He had been nice enough the first night they met, so she figured she was just overreacting because of the incidents happening in the city. _“You’re being ridiculous,”_ she assured herself. _“He’s a good guy. Give him a chance.”_

He walked to the counter, still grinning from ear to ear. Dressed in a black coat and a grey t-shirt over a pair of black skinny jeans, he looked as dashing as ever. “I had no idea. This is one of my favorite shops on this street.”

“Do you come here a lot?” Kat walked to the edge of the counter, leaning on it slightly. Her body felt like it was about ready to give out from sleep deprivation, but she just kept reminding herself that she only had an hour left until she could leave.

Harry nodded. “All the time, actually. Such a cozy, safe place.”

“Safe?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at his word choice.

He tapped one of the papers that she had lying on the counter. “The murders. They’re not _that_ close to here yet. That must make you feel a bit better, right?” She gave a small shrug in response and avoided his eyes. “You’re not worried about all this, are you?” He lowered his voice a little, sounding concerned.

“I mean, it’s pretty scary if you think about it. You just never know. Someone you pass on the streets could be the next victim.”

“Or the actual killer.” 

“Yeah... or that...” Kat pushed away from the counter and took a step back away from him. His cologne was beginning to invade her senses and she just couldn’t take it anymore. “Can I help you find something?” 

“Nope, I just came here to browse.” Harry walked away from the counter and towards the rows of books, walking up and down each aisle very methodically. She attempted to pay attention to the paperwork she was trying to file onto the computer, but she found it difficult. Her ears started to train into the clicking of Harry’s boots against the floor of the shop. After a few moments of browsing, the footsteps stopped. 

Kat wanted to turn around and see what he was doing, but before she could, the steps started again and he was walking back to the counter, book in tow. “Find something worth your while?” Kat inquired automatically as she did with every one of her customers. 

“I do believe so,” he replied. His voice was a bit lower than the cheery tone he had when he was speaking to her before. “Would you recommend this?” He placed the book on the counter in front of her and she glanced down it. 

Her heart sank slightly when she recognized the cover. _Study of Mental Illness and Their Characteristics._

She swallowed hard and looked up at him for answers, but he gave none. “You want this book?” she whispered. 

He nodded once and smirked, his head tilting over slightly to the right. “Is there a problem?” Kat couldn’t form the words she needed to for a reply. His actions had taken her completely by surprise, and she suddenly felt like her uneasy feeling around him wasn’t just a coincidence. She didn’t think she was being rude anymore. Or, more importantly, she didn’t care. “Well?” Harry leaned in just a tad towards her, his voice husky and rough, just like when they met in the coffee shop and he had asked her to leave with him. It still sent the same feeling coursing through her veins, making her want to sprint out of that bookstore and never look back again.

But she couldn’t do that. Even though she felt like she had a reason to be worried by his mannerisms, she wondered how much of an overreaction that would be. 

She cleared her throat hard and shook her head. “No, no problem,” she muttered as she took the book and scanned it. 

Kat was sure that with every move she made, Harry was watching her every inch of the way. She was sure that he leaned in just a tiny bit closer every time she glanced away. She was very sure that smirk on his lips hid a secret agenda that was floating through his mind. Or maybe that was the paranoia kicking in.

The only thing she was almost certain about was that this meeting hadn’t been by accident. He knew she worked there, and somehow, he knew what book she had been reading the night before in the “safety” of her apartment. 

But _how_.

Harry slid the money onto the counter in front of her. “Just keep the change.” Kat couldn’t help but glance at him as she took the money and opened the registered. His eyes were still glued on her. Of course.

She placed the book into a plastic bag and held it towards him over the counter. “Here you go.” Her voice came out just above a whisper. Harry slowly reached over the counter towards her hand and took the handle of the bag, his finger skimming along her own.

“Thank you so very much,” he purred, pulling the bag from her. She jerked her hand back as she involuntarily took a step away from the counter. “I’ll see you again _very_ soon.” The sentence sounded more like a promise rather than a friendly gesture. However, Kat couldn’t help taking it as a threat.

After he gave her a sickeningly sweet smile, Harry turned on his heel and sauntered out of the bookshop, letting out one small, deep laugh before the door closed behind him.

 

As soon as he was out of sight, Kat checked the clock on the register. Fifteen minutes until closing. “Close enough.” She rushed around the counter and quickly locked the door, turning the sign around to “closed.” She wasted no time closing out all of her stuff and cleaning up. She wanted out of there as quick as possible so she could go home and forget about her eerie encounter with the boy. 

Kat always hated this part of closing. The part where she had to walk to the back, shut the lights off, and come back up in the dark. Sure, the front door was locked. There was nothing to worry about. But after everything that had happened, Kat wished there was an easier way to do this.

She finally sighed and trudged to the back of the building into the small back hallway where the breakers were. She found the switch labeled “main lights.” This was the point where she would take a deep breath, flip the lights off, and hurry to the front, which is exactly what she did.

As she was rounding the corner to walk into the main lobby, she heard a noise. The front door was being pushed open, and it slammed with a loud “thud.” Kat stopped dead in her tracks. She was positive she had locked the front door, and that no one without a key was getting in. She was also positive that her boss was not coming in, and Kim was with her husband looking at a house.

No one should have been coming into that building, yet Kat could hear the definite sounds of footsteps walking from the front door around to the counter. Kat pressed herself up against the wall in the small hallway, holding her breath and crossing her fingers that whoever it was left soon.

Her mind was racing through every possibility that could be happening. A robber might have broken in and was planning to steal all their money and leave. Maybe she _hadn’t_ locked the door after all, and someone thought they were open. Or maybe the murderer had decided to get a head start on tonight’s body count.

Kat’s body shook in response to her thoughts just as the footsteps started to get closer to the back hallway where she was at. She immediately started looking around for any way to escape. The hallway was split in two by the entrance to the lobby, and to get to the nearest emergency exit, she would have to run past the entrance, revealing herself to whoever had broken in. The other exit was clear on the other side of the building, and would call for her to run right past the unknown person.

She was stuck, and the person just kept getting closer and closer.

Kat shrank to the floor, trying to make herself as small as possible and hoped that maybe, just maybe, the person would walk past without seeing her. Yeah, right.

Just as Kat was starting to estimate how quick she could make it to the front door, the person rounded the corner and accidently kicked Kat’s shoe, causing her to scream. The figure responded in an equally girlish scream. Kat’s cry cut off mid-breath and she jerked her head up towards the person.

“What the HELL are you doing, Kat?!” Kim yelled, holding her hand over her heart.

Kat was sure that she looked pretty stupid right then, huddled against the wall in the floor, but she could only let out a relieved laugh. “Jesus Christ, Kim. You scared me to death.”

“No, I think you took that prize. You almost gave me a heart attack.” Kim held her hand out towards the younger girl and helped her up. “What in the world are you doing back here?”

The both walked back out to the main lobby, allowing Kim to gather up some papers under the counter. “I was shutting the lights off and I heard you. I panicked,” she admitted. “Anyways, I thought you weren’t supposed to be back tonight?”

“We finished early.” Kim turned and looked at Kat, a huge grin on her face. “We closed on the house. We’re going to start moving in our stuff next week. Isn’t that great?!”

Kat returned her grin and pulled her into a hug. “That’s amazing! You’ll have to invite me over sometime soon.”

“Sure thing, love. You know I will. I’ll need your help decorating.” Kat laughed, but a look on Kim’s face caught her eye.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just nerves,” she laughed. Obviously, it wasn’t just nerves. Kat had a way of picking up on subtle hints about people, and Kim wasn’t getting past her radar.

“No, come on. Spill it,” Kat urged. Kim sighed just a tad and sat the papers down on the counter.

“Was that guy that walked out just a bit ago a friend of yours?” She stared at Kim for a few moments, not really understanding. “Handsome guy. Brown curls. Black coat and jeans.”

Kat cut her off, “Oh god, not a friend, no. Just some guy that I met at the coffee shop down the street the other night.” She paused for just a moment, becoming curious. “Why do you ask?”

Kim tried to shrug it off. “I was just wondering.”

“Liar. Why?”

“I just... I don’t know.” Kim laughed a tad and looked away embarrassedly. “He gives me the creeps.”

Kat shook her head. “You and I both. You have no idea.”

“I guess it’s just everything that’s going on. ‘S got me all nervous, you know?” Kat nodded.

“Trust me, I know. I’m the same way.” Kim picked the papers back up and smiled at Kat.  
“I think I’m going to head out. I’m coming in at lunch tomorrow, so don’t expect me early, okay? I think Stacy’s working with you.”

“Yeah, alright. You just... be careful getting home, alright?” Kim nodded and gave a small wave to Kat as she exited the building.

Kat pulled her coat on and grabbed her bag, and was eventually on her way towards her apartment after locking the doors to the shop. The night wasn’t as cold as it usually was. The sky was clear, and there was no sign of rain or snow, something that was a pleasant surprise after the last few days of nothing but gloomy skies. Kat hoped it was a sign of things clearing in her life too. 

She had always relied on things like that. Little signs here and there to guide her along the way and give her an optimistic view on things. As dumb as it may seem to some people, she found comfort in those things. 

_“Things are going to clear up,”_ Kat told herself, a small smile forming on her lips. She raised her head as she walked just a bit more confident. _“Just like the sky. Everything’s going to clear. You may have had a rainy few days, but here’s the chance to make it all better.”_ And she would. She had it set in her head.

She was about halfway home with her new sense of assurance when her phone started ringing in her pocket. Her footsteps stopped momentarily on the sidewalk as she paused to pull the phone from her pocket. The number wasn’t one that she recognized, which didn’t happen all that often. She pressed the “answer” button quickly and held the phone to her ear. “Hello?” she spoke into the phone, starting to walk again.

The phone call ended a few seconds after her greeting, no words being spoken from the other end. “Wrong number,” she muttered to herself and locked her phone.

She hurried the rest of the way to her apartment and rushed inside, locking the door behind her. When she was inside, she sat down on her couch and turned the television on. She clicked it to a random channel, which just so happened to be the evening news.

A reporter was standing in front of a scene on the side of the road, flashing lights from the police and ambulances bouncing off her face and filling Kat’s living room with a bright blue hue. 

“-eculating that this is another victim of the London Mass Murders that the city has been dealing with for the past few months. Details are not known at this point, though. All we know is that there has been another murder, a street over from Roberts Bookshop. Residents that live around this area should stay indoors, make sure your windows and doors are locked, and don’t answer them for anyone you don’t know. Back to y-”

Kat turned the television off quickly, her heart pounding. She had literally just been there. She could have easily been the victim of this heinous crime. She might had even passed the killer on the street, and not even know it.

Her life was put in danger that night and she only just realized it. How would she have felt if _she_ had been caught? What in the world would she do? Fight back? Give up?

Kat huffed out a sigh. That was one of those situations where you have no idea how you would react until you were put right in the middle of it, and she was not risking her life just to find out which choice she would make.

After eating a quick dinner and changing into her pajamas, Kat climbed into the safety of her bed. At that moment, it was the only place she felt safe, as dumb as it sounded. A duvet and a layer of sheets were not going to put up much fight to a vicious killer.

But she didn’t care. She pulled her sheets up right to her chin and rolled over on her side, pulling the covers around her like a cocoon. She laughed a tad when she realized that even if the killer did want to find her, he’d have to dig her from the sheets, which could be a slight inconvenience in the way that she was wrapped up in them. At least she was able to keep her sense of humor.

She tried to close her eyes and rest, but she couldn’t find sleep easily. She was filled with an insane amount of worry that she just couldn’t shake. How could she keep from becoming the next big headline? Hopefully, she thought, if she continued locking her doors and basically just keeping her eyes open for anything suspicious, she could dodge the risk of being the victim. She was more likely to make it through this alive than she was to be caught, she concluded.

After settling her mind with that thought, she closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. Before she could rest easy though, her phone rang again. Kat groaned softly as she rolled over. It was the same number from before, which automatically struck her as odd.

Kat answered the phone with a hoarse, sleep filled, “Hello?”

“Mmm...” a low voice on the other end hummed. Her eyebrows raised in confusion and alarm.

“Hello? Who is this?” The voice didn’t respond. They simply sat on the other end, breathing deeply, which in itself was absolutely creepy. “Is anyone there?” she asked. Before she could say anything else, the other end of the line went dead. Kat pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it quite startled. “Wrong number again,” she told herself.

But for some reason, she couldn’t convince herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. If you couldn't tell, the bit at the beginning is being written at a different time than the rest of the story. It'll be easier to understand fairly soon. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Kat could barely sleep that night. Whenever she did fall asleep, she would jerk back away with the image of Emma staring back at her. She always was an over thinker, but this time it was really affecting her in a way like never before. Finally, she found a few hours of uneasy sleep.

When she woke up, she beat her alarm by fifteen minutes. She rolled over and turned it off before it could alert her. Kat fell backwards back into her sheets with a loud huff. Her lack of sleep was starting to beat her down. Soon, she realized, she would have to get a good night’s sleep, or else. She had felt the effects of major sleep deprivation once before and she knew that it’s not something to be taken lightly.

Kat pushed herself from the bed and stumbled to her closet, picking out a large, oversized sweater and a pair of battered jeans. She wasn’t looking to impress one little bit. She felt awful and just wanted to get her job done and come home to maybe get a small amount of sleep.

An hour later, she found herself dragging through the doors of the small bookstore, looking like a complete mess. Stacy, Kat’s younger co-worker, lifted her head just a tad and made a face. “Kat, are you okay?” she asked as Kat walked around the counter.

She gave a terse nod, followed by a yawn she tried to stifle. “I just didn’t sleep well. I’m fine.” 

“You look awful.” Stacy was very blunt in the way that she spoke, yet she hardly realized what she said half the time.

Kat made a face as she shrugged her coat off and folded it underneath the counter. “Gee, thanks,” she mumbled.

Stacy apparently missed the sarcasm in Kat’s voice. “What kept you up?” she asked cheerfully. Obviously, she had slept well last night unlike some people.

“My thoughts.” Kat really didn’t feel like getting into this conversation with someone like Stacy. All she would say would be something along the lines of asking her if she had given the guy a chance, and if he was cute.

Stacy rolled her eyes and pursed her lips together. “Just trying to be friendly.”

“I know, I know,” Kat sighed, softening just a tad. “I’m just on edge today. It’s not you, I promise.” Stacy moved out from in front of the computer so Kat could clock in, and after, they began their day. 

Customers came and went, blurring around Kat’s tired mind. She let Stacy run the front register because she just couldn’t focus on working the computer. Instead, she took to loading up the stock from the back room and moving it up to the front. It was just enough activity to keep her alert, but it didn’t require much thought.

At lunchtime, Kat was ready to pass out. She could barely keep her eyes open and it was getting harder and harder to push herself to do what she needed to. She had never dealt well without sleep, and her body was trying to slowly rebel against her for it. 

“Kat?” Stacy said, snapping her fingers in front of her face. Kat was sitting at the counter, getting ready to go get lunch. She jumped slightly when she realized she had been dozing off.

“Hmm?” She rubbed her eyes as she shook her head. “Yeah, sorry. What is it?”

Stacy looked at her warily. “Kim should be here in about thirty minutes. You could leave when she gets here.” Kat nodded a tad. 

“I may.” She stood up and grabbed her bag. “I’m heading to get lunch. Do you want anything?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks. I brought something from home.” 

“Alright, I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” She needed to get out and clear her mind a little. Maybe get some coffee to wake her up. 

Kat exited the bookstore and pulled the collar of her coat up to block the wind from her neck. It was quite chilly outside, something she couldn’t stand. Luckily, March was less than a month away, and it would hopefully be warming up then, which she was desperately looking forward to.

As she walked towards the café across the street, all she could think about was sunshine and warm weather, her go to “happy place.”

She always had a happy place. It’s sort of a strange concept, but she found out quite quickly that it worked for her. All Kat had to do was picture herself in a place of her choice, hear the sounds, see the images, smell the scents. And she was there. Mentally, she was lying on a beach somewhere with her toes in the ocean, while she was physically in the unpleasant situation.

It helped ease her mind for the most part as she walked into the café. Kat quickly ordered a chicken salad sandwich, a bottle of water, and a hot cup of coffee for her walk back to the shop. Once she had paid and got her items, she was right back out the door, heading back to work. She took her time walking back, giving herself a chance to enjoy the hot drink. She had finished off half of it by the time she got inside the bookstore. 

Stacy was sitting at the counter, chewing on a bite of what looked like leftover Chinese. She glanced up at Kat as she walked in. “Maybe that coffee will do the trick,” she shrugged, eyeing the cup in Kat’s hand.

“I’m hoping so. God knows I need to wake up a little or else I won’t make it on my walk back home.” Kat shuffled behind the counter by Stacy and took a seat on one of the stools before finishing off her coffee and taking out her food. 

She was about halfway through her sandwich when Stacy spoke again. “Hey Kat, that guy across the street is staring at you.” Kat wiped her mouth with a napkin before glancing up. She looked out the large glass windows of the store, but didn’t see anyone standing outside.

“Who?” Stacy looked back up from her food and made a face.

“Well, he was there a second ago.” She shrugged a tad. “He was fit,” she giggled. Of course he was. Just about any guy that was even remotely attractive was “fit” to Stacy. 

“Fit?” Kat laughed. She took a sip of her water before continuing. “Define fit.”

“I don’t know. He was wearing this black leather jacket with his hood up, so I couldn’t see much. But the way he was staring at you... wow.”

Kat stopped chewing the bite of food in her mouth as she listened. “What do you mean?” she finally asked after swallowing.

“He wanted you,” she replied, glancing over at Kat. Stacy was smiling mischievously, but Kat didn’t find a bit of humor in it. Before she could elaborate on it, the bell above the door rang. Both of the girls glanced over just as Kim rushed in.

Instantly, Kat could tell something was wrong. Kim was totally pale making the dark bags under her eyes look like deep bruises. Her hands were actually visibly shaking as she came to the counter. Kat kept her eyes locked on the frightened girl as she clocked in. “Kim...” Kat murmured, reaching a hand out to place on her forearm. Kim jerked away promptly, but sighed and shook her head right after.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just... not feeling well this morning.” Kat knew it wasn’t just that. Something had happened.

“Kim, come with me. Stacy, handle the register for a minute.” Kat stood up and took Kim’s hand, not allowing her to resist. She pulled her to the back hallway, into the staff bathroom, and shut the door behind them. Almost simultaneously, Kim’s body started to shake with soft sobs that were billowing from her chest. “Kim, what is wrong? What happened?” Kat took her by the shoulders and attempted to hold her still, but that only made Kim cry harder.

Kat wrapped her arms around the weeping woman and pulled her close. “Shh,” she murmured, rubbing her back, “it’s alright. You’re alright.”

“I’m NOT alright!” Kim shrieked, pushing away from Kat. Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared at her, a stark contrast against her snow white skin. Her normally perfectly placed hair was pulled back messily in a ponytail and sticking up in random places. She had no makeup on, and frankly, just looked awful. Kim normally cared so much about her appearance but now not a trace of that was seen. 

“Tell me what happened,” Kat urged. Kim took a few deep breaths as she wiped her eyes with her shaking hands.

“I can’t. He’ll know.”

“Who? Who will know?”

Kim shook her head, reaching her hands up into her hair frantically. “I.. I don’t know his name. I just... he knows everything, Kat.”

“Okay, slow down.” Kat pushed Kim back to the toilet and sat her down on the closed lid before kneeling in front of her. “I want you to tell me what’s going on. Nobody’s going to know anything. It’s just me and you in here.” Kim took a few unsteady breaths and swallowed hard.

“I... I really don’t know who he is,” she started, her voice shaking nervously. She spoke quickly through the next part. “All I know is that I feel like someone’s always watching me these days and these murders are happening and he’s been calling me and he won’t leave me alone and he’s sent me all these pictures and it’s just really freaking me out. I haven’t even told Ben about it and he’s my husband, for Christ sake. I’m scared out of my mind and I just... Kat I don’t know what to do.” Kat nodded, attempting to keep up with what she was saying. Half of the words got lost in small sobs that were still hiccupping throughout her speech.

“First off, you need to tell Ben, alright?” she said after processing all she could.

Kim threw her hands down in frustration. “He won’t believe me and you know it!”

“Kim, I don’t care if he doesn’t believe you. You need to tell him, and then you need to go to the police, okay?” Her eyes got wide, causing Kat to backtrack slightly. “I mean, it’s honestly probably some dick playing a prank. But with everything that’s been going on lately, we’re not going to risk anything.” Kat paused, waiting for Kim to agree. She gave a small nod and Kat continued, “You’re going to go to the police, and that’ll be the last of it. But the one thing you do not need to do is panic. I know, it’s hard. But you’re letting it get to your head, and you cannot do that.”

“How am I supposed to ignore it?” she whimpered.

“You’ve got to get your mind on something else.” Kat’s hands were placed on Kim’s knees to steady them both as they stared at each other. Kat was attempting to look calm during all this for Kim’s sake, and she hoped that her strong voice was doing the trick. Inside, she was very shaken up. She hoped what she was saying was true and that it was just some immature person playing a prank on Kim.

But she wasn’t convinced. It may have been her sleep deprived state making her paranoid, or just everything that was going on around them. But she could not make herself believe that that’s all it was.

Kim took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly as she closed her eyes. “You’re right. Kat, you are so right.” She opened her eyes once more and smiled weakly. “Thank you, really,” she said as she leaned forward towards Kat. Kim wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight.

“It’s going to be alright. I promise,” Kat replied as she hugged her back. Still not convinced. “Now, what are you going to do?” Kat pulled out of Kim’s arms and stared at her.

“I’m going to quit being a nutter, first of all. I’m going to get up and work my shift, and then I’m going to head straight over to the cops and speak to them.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight,” she affirmed with a nod. Kat gave her a smile and pushed herself up to a standing position. Kim stood up as well and glanced at the mirror, letting out a groan. “Oh my god, I look absolutely terrible.”

“You look fine,” Kat laughed as she patted her back. She opened the bathroom door and walked back out to the main lobby where Stacy was.

“Hey, there you are. I think something’s wrong with our phone,” she said when she saw Kat and Kim emerge from the hallway.

Kat walked behind the counter, making a face. “Why?”

“It keeps ringing but whenever I answer, it’s like the other person hangs up before they say anything.” 

Kim shook her head as she followed Kat. “The phones here are always messing up.” As if cued, the phone rang again. Stacy groaned.

“You take it this time. They obviously don’t want to talk to me.” Kat reached over on the counter and grabbed the phone receiver, cradling it on her shoulder as clicked through some stuff on the computer.

“Hello, Roberts Bookshop, how can I help you?” she greeted automatically. Nobody replied. “Hello? Can I help you?” The other person exhaled one small, deep laugh, causing Kat to freeze. “H-Hello?” she called again. The person on the other end just sat there, breathing softly into the phone. 

Before she could freak herself out, Kat slammed the phone down, cutting off the call. “Who was it?” Kim asked warily. 

Stacy rolled her eyes. “Did they actually talk to you?” Kat shook her head quickly.

“No, they didn’t.” She didn’t want to scare Kim more than she already was, so that was all she said. Kat rapidly changed the subject. “Kim, are you okay to work?” Stacy raised an eyebrow, still completely unaware to the situation.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you going to head out?” Kat nodded and, after clocking out from the register, pushed herself from the counter. She grabbed her stuff and pulled her coat on. “Alright, you be careful, do you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,” she smiled teasingly. Kim just rolled her eyes with a smile. Kat leaned down to grab her bag and as she stood up, she glanced up at the glass windows of the main wall where the door was. A figure standing across the road caught her attention. No, it wasn’t the figure that caught her attention.

It was the eyes.

Kat turned around and scrambled out from behind the counter, trying to reach the doorway quickly. However, as soon as she got to it, the figure was gone, and it left her wondering if she had really seen anybody standing there. She was, of course, very tired, so that might have had an effect on it.

However, she couldn’t shake how he was staring at her. It was just as Stacy had described, but in a completely different context.

He wanted her, but not in the way Stacy would have preferred. It was a strange, intense mixture of lust and anger. Not the sort of look that any normal girl would enjoy receiving from a stranger.

It sent chills down her spine. She had to try to force it from her mind as she turned back towards the girls at the counter who were staring at her like they were worried for her mental health.

Really, she was too. She was worried that now, she was starting to hallucinate. There was no proof that somebody was standing outside the building staring in at her. None at all. 

“Are you alright?” Stacy asked, raising an eyebrow. The look in Kim’s eyes told her that maybe she should be a bit more concerned than she was already.

Kat looked between the two before swallowing hard and giving a quick, yet uncertain nod. “I’m fine. Just thought I saw someone I knew.” 

“Kat, do you want me to walk you home?” Kim asked softly. The tone in her voice was suspicious, as if she knew what Kat had seen outside.

She just shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Thanks, though.” And with that, Kat walked out of the bookshop before they could ask any more questions.

Her walk home was anything but tranquil. She constantly kept looking over her shoulder, searching for any sign that she was being followed. However, there was no one. No one was chasing her. Nobody was looking to harm her. 

Her mind was running away with itself, and as much as she tried, she just couldn’t rein it in. Anybody passing her on the street could have been the killer, she realized. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat and kept her head low, eyeing every person that walked past her. _“You need to get home,”_ she told herself silently. _“You need to get home, and you’ll be okay.”_

Finally, she saw her apartment building and hurried in. She couldn’t help but feel overwhelming thankfulness wash over her as she locked her door behind her. Her mind raced as she tore through her home to check the locks on the windows and shut the blinds. Everything was boarded up completely, but that didn’t help ease her fear. 

Kat finally forced herself to sit down on her couch and try to relax so she could think clearly. Her thoughts were bouncing around nonstop, making it very difficult to understand what exactly was going on.

Eventually, she had calmed down enough to go over the facts. First of all, she knew Harry hadn’t technically done anything wrong. Maybe it was all a very, very strange coincidence. Maybe he _had_ just shown up at his favorite bookstore, which happened to be her place of work, by chance. Stranger things had happened. Second, maybe Harry just had a weird way of showing how he felt. He hadn’t said anything out of the way. He had complimented her numerous times. The only thing off about everything was his tone, and that didn’t hold up any substance in an argument.

Also, she couldn’t actually pin the phone calls on Harry. The person had yet to speak to her, but he wasn’t completely ruled out yet.

As much as she told herself these things, it didn’t help calm her nerves. She could go over these “facts” as much as she wanted, but it wouldn’t change how she felt. Kat was getting more and more scared of this boy as time went on, and she feared it would only get worse.

She sat there for a while longer, pondering over everything. She had always been an over-thinker, and it was something that she almost prided herself on. Any situation she got in was usually resolved in a few hours because she had went over every single option and end that situation could possibly have before picking the best one.

Before long, Kat could barely keep her eyes open. She dressed in her sleep clothes quickly and crawled into the sheets. It was still fairly light outside, but she hoped with the extra few hours she had, she could catch up on what she had been missing lately.

However, as much as she desperately wished that was going to be what happened, Kat couldn’t help but feel that her once safe dreams were going to be stolen from her yet again.


	5. Chapter 5

Sleep used to be a very easy thing for Kat. It would come so easy without any little bit of struggle. Nowadays, she was lucky to fall asleep within a few hours of lying down. 

However, this night was surprisingly different. Sleep didn’t elude her. She fell asleep fairly quickly without much tossing and turning.

When she woke up, the sun had set, but Kat suspected it wasn’t even past midnight. She was still too tired to have slept more than a few hours, but she still smiled when she opened her eyes. Already, she felt a little better. Sleep is a wonderful, amazing thing. It can work wonders on the body, as became very evident to Kat.

She slowly started to shift her weight to her side to roll over, but after a moment, she realized she couldn’t. She couldn’t even lift her arm up to begin to push herself into a sitting position on the bed. Her body was deadweight as she laid there.

No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn’t budge. She couldn’t wiggle her fingers or her toes. Her legs refused to move from the mattress. The only thing she could move were her eyes, which were scanning the dark apartment, completely panicked.

Finally, she shut her eyes, and opened them again, trying to “wake herself up.” Kat realized quickly that was a bad idea. Her eyes focused on a dark figure standing right above her, leaning over the side of her bed ominously.

She opened her mouth to let out a scream, but nothing came out. Her voice refused to work just like the rest of her body.

Inside, she was screaming her head off. She was thrashing around, trying to force her body to jump up and get out of the situation. But outside, she remained unmoving, a sitting duck to the intruder. 

The figure moved in closer to her. His face was hidden by a large hood that was pulled over his head. Shadows obscured any facial features that she could see. The only thing she could see were his large hands starting to move slowly towards her neck, ready to clasp around her and strangle the life from her throat.

Kat attempted to cry out again as the hands were just about to reach her, but again, no sound escaped from her mouth. She was stuck, and there was nothing she could do.

Just as the stranger’s hands clawed their way against her neck, Kat’s body shot straight up in the bed, and the figure disappeared into the darkness.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, but the relief didn’t last for long. Her phone was ringing on her bedside table. After a few moments of trying to get her breathing composed so she could talk, she reached over and grabbed the phone, pressing the “answer” button. In the back of her mind, she knew it was odd that someone was calling her this late, but she was still drowning in sleep, and her thought process wasn’t working like it should have been.

“Hello?” she rasped. Kat cleared her throat to try to sound more awake, but it didn’t work. Her eyes were drooping shut as she sat there with the phone to her ear.

But as she heard the noise on the other end, her eyes snapped open and she was back to breathing heavily as her heart raced. A scream erupted through the phone, causing Kat to jerk it away from her ear from the sudden sound. The scream was then cut off by a gargling noise, followed by silence. 

She sat there for a few moments in complete shock, unsure if she had really heard what she thought she did. Finally, she wrenched the phone from her ear and cut the call off before tossing the phone on the sheets in front of her.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. What had happened on the other end of that phone, and why was she the one that had to hear it all?

“It was a dream,” she finally concluded. She was still dreaming. In a few hours, her alarm would be going off and she would wake up, with barely a memory of this dream. 

Hopefully.

Kat sat in her bed for a long while, just staring at the phone in front of her. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she laid back down in her sheets, only to be woken up by her alarm as soon as her eyes closed.

“See?” she said to herself as she sat back up. “Just a dream. People always wake up in real life when they go to sleep in their dream.”

The only thing she couldn’t shake was the sound of the spine-chilling scream that had ripped through the phone. She might have been able to tell herself that everything was okay because it was all in her imagination, but that scream sounded unnervingly real, and that was something she couldn’t take her mind off of. 

Even though her door was bolted shut, as were her windows, she couldn’t help but jump at every little noise echoing through the room as she got ready for work. She was even cautious as she was taking a shower, locking the bathroom door, and triple checking that she had done so. 

Kat glanced at her phone to check the time after she dressed and realized she was running late.

She shrugged into her heavy coat and slipped her boots on. The last thing she wanted to do was to walk out that door and remove herself from her secure bubble, causing her to become vulnerable and open to any and all attacks; however, as much as she hated the thought, she knew she couldn’t let this hiccup take control of her life.

 

She may not have wanted it to take over her life, but it had already consumed her mind more than she would like to admit. Kat checked the front door twice, and left her sanctuary unwillingly.

The sunlight was dim behind the thick clouds, almost foreshadowing how she had felt for the past few days. _“I need to think of something other than this,”_ she thought to herself. Kat tossed about topics in her mind before settling on a checklist of what she had to do at work that day. There wasn’t much on the list. The shelves were all stocked, and they weren’t expecting another shipment of books until the next day. Maybe she would be able to sneak off to the back of the store and get a quick nap in during her break.

However, as she neared the bookstore, she realized it wouldn’t be just another normal day at work. An ambulance, countless cop cars, and numerous onlookers surrounded the structure, their lights dancing along the other buildings on the street. Kat sprinted up to the front door, smacking into a police officer guarding the building.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t go in,” he said in a monotone voice as he tried to push her back.

“No, you don’t understand,” she replied. “I work here. I was supposed to come in this morning.” After a moment of speculation, the burly man moved from in front of her and allowed her in the store. Kat glanced over the room, finally laying eyes on her boss. “Mr. Roberts!” 

The sunken man looked up at her, his eyes hollowed out just a little more than usual. The bags under his old eyes told stories that no one would ever know, and it looked as if this would be one more tale to add to the collection. Kat hurried over to him, her eyes searching for answers. “Kat... I should have called you... told you not to come in today,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Why?” she prodded. “Did someone break in?” The man shook his head. “Then what in the world is going on? Is everyone ok?”

Mr. Roberts took her arm and excused himself from a detective’s interview. He pulled the girl away from the chaos and sighed again. “Kim was working late last night as you know,” he started. Kat nodded her head. “She... she was found murdered in the alley behind the building.”

Kat suddenly felt sick. “What?” she croaked.

“Her throat was just... sliced almost in half... Whoever done this was angry. Did Kim say anything to you that was maybe alarming? Anything that could have shown someone was after her?”

Kat shook her head. “No, wait,” she exhaled after a moment. “There was a guy... She mentioned him to me last night.” The police officer that the old man was talking with took a few steps towards them, listening in, and Kat turned her attention towards him. “She said something about some guy really scaring her. He was... I don’t know. Stalking her, maybe? She was going to go to the police last night when she got off work.”

She attempted to tell them everything that she and Kim had discussed the night before, but Kim had been talking so fast that most of the words got lost in shuttering sobs and sniffs. Mr. Roberts let out a sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You look really pale. I think you need to head on home until you feel better.” She wanted to stay. She didn’t want to have to go back home to her apartment to weigh herself down with the bloody and gruesome pictures she were being painted in her head. She didn’t want to be alone. She needed something to keep her mind off of everything.

“I think I need to stay,” she muttered, her voice just barely above a whisper.

Mr. Roberts shook his head in disagreement. “No, Kat. I need you to head home. I can’t have you here after what happened.” That was the opposite of what she hoped he would say, but she didn’t really have a choice. “The shop will be closed tomorrow. If you feel like you’re able, you can come in the next day. If you don’t though, don’t worry about it. I will completely understand.”

Kat nodded and started to pull away from the man, but he grabbed her arm quickly, staring at her with concern. “Kat... are you going to be okay?”

She let out a weak, “Yes, sir.” In reality, she wasn’t sure. Kim was the _only_ friend she had in this city. Who was she supposed to turn to now? 

No one.

Mr. Roberts gave her a pat on the back before sending her on her way. Shakily, Kat walked out of the bookstore into the mess of police officers where she found herself feeling sicker with every minute that passed. She shoved past the nosy bodies, and finally she was out of the crowd.

Even though she was no longer in the claustrophobia-inducing mob, Kat found herself having trouble finding enough air to satisfy her lungs. She took a few steps away from the chaos before leaning backwards against the wall of the building, her hands on her knees to stabilize herself. Her eyes shut as she gasped roughly for a substantial breath, and she was afraid that at any point, she was going to fall over from hyperventilating. 

Her whole body was shaking when her breathing finally returned to normal, and she honestly felt like at any moment she was going to throw up. Kat needed to make it home, and quick, she realized, before she made another scene in front of everyone. She pushed away from the wall and, after making sure she was able to stand steady, she lifted her head to start the journey back home.

The walk seemed to take longer than normal. She knew it was just her nerves getting the best of her, but every footstep seemed to take half a second longer. Every block had expanded just an inch bigger. She was dragging along, even though in her head, she was screaming at herself to hurry up.

Finally, the finish line was in sight. She could see her apartment building growing closer and closer, and she couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh as she neared the front steps.

However, with every step, a sense of dread was filling her stomach. At first, she wasn’t sure why she felt like that. She brushed it off as the inevitable. Her friend had just died at the hands of a murderer that was getting closer to home every day. As hard as she had tried to force herself not to think about it, Kat was about to be alone with only her thoughts, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to fight it once she closed the door behind her. 

But then, as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, she realized that no, it wasn’t just the feeling of worry consuming her that she was experiencing. It was the feeling of being watched.

Kat tried to ignore it. She was far too tired, and she knew that the lack of sleep was messing with her normal functions. She really, really tried to just walk up those front steps and let herself into her apartment building.

However, as her whole body started to tense up with alarms going off in her mind, she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Something wasn’t right, and her instinct was trying to force her to realize that. She was fighting a losing battle with herself. On one hand, she knew she needed to just get to safety and lock herself in her apartment. However, on the other hand, she wanted to look around and see whatever it was that was making her heart start to speed up.

Then again, she had to consider the fact that maybe she was just being paranoid. She had experienced this sort of irrational fear numerous times before. It was like when you flip the lights off in a basement and on the way back up the stairs, panic sets in and you find yourself sprinting to the top, running from nothing in particular.

This time though, she was almost positive she wasn’t being illogical with her fear. Someone was watching her.

And then her curiosity got the best of her.

Kat reached the steps and slowly started to look over her shoulder towards the sidewalk across the street. Her eyes scanned along the way, stopping on any face that even remotely looked as if they would have been watching her. As she reached the far end of the sidewalk, it was as if everything had slowed down, and in that moment, her eyes met a pair that she had prayed she would never see again.

Her stomach panged uneasily as the face came into focus, and the boy’s lips curled in a lopsided smirk. The other people on the street moved slowly around him, completely unaware of the inner crisis Kat was having. Were any of them feeling the same overwhelming urge to get as far away from Harry as possible?

Probably not.

They weren’t receiving the look that Kat was. They weren’t focusing in on the completely manic stare that was boring into her. They weren’t _seeing_ like she was.  
They never saw like she did. Nobody ever did.

She had been the first to notice something wasn’t quite right with her brother. She was the first to notice the hysterical look that would cloud his eyes.

And it was the very same look that she was staring into right then.

Even though she was completely horrified, she couldn’t turn away. Kat kept staring at the boy as she stood on the bottom step to her building, her mouth slightly jarred and her heart pounding loud in her ears. The world seemed to have stopped moving around them, and they were the only ones that were in focus. Everything else was slightly blurred in her vision. 

Everything except Harry.

He stood there, perfectly in focus, and raised a hand to his bottom lip to swipe a finger across the pink skin. She could see his smirk slowly grow into a full blown smile before his body started to turn and walk in the opposite direction of her building, eventually disappearing from her view.

It took her just a few more moments before she could physically force her legs to move. She finally turned back around, stumbling slightly when she rushed up the stairs, and let herself into her building.

Before long, she was locked safely in her apartment. Safely. Kat scoffed at the word as she checked the locks on her door three times before moving away to check the windows. She was safe, or at least the closest to safe that she could be at a time like this.

She moved over towards her desk and sat down, opening up her laptop. Moments later, she found herself staring at an empty Word document.

Then, after a deep breath to steady her trembling fingers, Kat began typing.  
 _Emma Hall  
Kim Walker_

Kat almost cringed seeing Kim’s name on that list, knowing exactly what it meant. She was another victim of the murders in the city. She had suffered the same fate as the poor girl in the alley. Kim’s throat had been sliced, and she had died, strangling on her own blood.

Kat’s stomach turned uneasily, and she found herself pushing away from the desk and rushing into the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before she was heaving up anything that she had on her stomach.

Reaching up to flush, Kat’s legs buckled weakly underneath her, and she slid down the wall onto the cold tile of the bathroom. What was she supposed to do? Her only confidant in her life now was gone. She had nowhere to turn, no one to talk to. She was completely alone.

_“You always have home,”_ her conscious nagged. 

“’M not going home,” she mumbled to herself, wiping her lips with a small piece of toilet paper. She threw the paper into the toilet and flushed one more time before closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall.

The one thing that had yet to leave her mind was the dream she had the night before. Had it really been a coincidence that she dreamt about a women screaming as if she was being murdered, and the very next day, someone close to her was killed in such a brutal manner? 

It had to be.

She didn’t give herself much time to think about it. Slowly, she found a miniscule bit of strength, and forced herself upwards from the floor. Her legs tottered underneath her and she gave herself time to adjust. Eventually, Kat sat back down in front of her computer and started pulling open any and every article she came across that was even relatively related to the murders.

She knew what she was supposed to do now, and it didn’t involve going anywhere near her “home” back in the states.

She was going to figure this out, just like she always did. If she couldn’t get her mind off of everything, why not put the slight obsession to work and get some use out of it?

So that’s exactly what Kat started doing.

She went through article after article, collecting names of the victims, pieces of information she found interesting, and anything that could possible tie together the string of victims.

This turned out to be quite a task.

The list of names kept growing and growing in front of Kat’s eyes. The victims ranged from blonde-haired girls in their late teens to dark-haired, middle-aged women. There were nurses, single mothers, students, and... bookstore works.

Hardly anything tied them together.

Kat’s eyes scanned over the vague descriptions of each girl she had typed out. Age. Job. Hair and eye color.

And then, she started to notice something.

It didn’t seem to be one large group of victims, but many smaller, more specific groups. First, there was a group of young, very beautiful teenage blondes. Then, working up the age scale, there was a group of long, dark-haired twenty-something year olds with no striking features. That included Emma and Kim. Next, there was a group of middle-aged, usually single, women.

But what did it mean?

Kat sighed as she closed her laptop and rested her head in her hands.

It meant she had _a lot_ of work to do.


	6. Chapter 6

When it hit her, it took her completely by surprise. Kat knew at some point that night she would be forced to come to terms with what had happened, but she just didn’t know when. But when it happened, she had no idea how hard the blow would be.

She was sitting on the couch, finishing off a bowl of soup as the television droned on about something she wasn’t really focusing on. Her mind was elsewhere. She had done almost all that she could to ignore the thoughts that would eventually creep into her mind, but now that the sun had set outside and she had nothing to direct her attention to, Kim’s face started to pop up.

Kat could feel the lump start to rise in her throat. She found it growing more and more difficult to force her soup down, so she leaned forward slowly and placed the near-empty bowl on the coffee table in front of her.

And then she lost it.

At first, she thought she could pull herself together after the first few tears fell. She sat with her head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees, and cried softly into her palms for a few moments. However, the longer she sat there, the more obvious it became to her that this wasn’t going to pass quickly. The sobs began to heave painfully from her chest, wracking her whole body. They pulsed through her like waves on a shoreline, in and out, pushing and pulling every body part as they rolled in. 

Kat tried to force herself to pull it together, taking deep breaths in through her nose and letting them out through her mouth, but as soon as the wobbling breath would leave her lips, she’d cough out another sob and be back to square one.

Her only friend was gone; the only person she had in this big city was dead. Kat already felt alone in her life as it was. Why was it _her_ that had to go?

The waves of grief continued to rock her back and forth until she found herself huddling her knees to her chest on the couch, hugging them close. She squeezed them as tight as she could, seemingly trying to anchor herself down, and slowly, it started working. Her breathing eventually started to go back to normal, other than the occasional hiccup that would jerk from her throat.

She stayed in that position for the rest of the night, ultimately falling asleep curled up on the couch.

The next morning, Kat woke up at her normal time to go to work. She started to push herself off of the couch to get ready for her day at the store, but the sudden realization as to why that wouldn’t happen swept over her. Extending her legs onto the couch, Kat let out a small whine as she stretched her arms up. Her body was aching from not being used to sleeping on the couch and her mind was still completely and totally exhausted. She had maybe gotten five hours of sleep, but it had not been near as restful as she needed. 

The sun was rising outside, bright as could be. How could something shine so bright after such a dark event took place just the day before? Usually, Kat would think of this as a sign that her day would be better, but she couldn’t force herself to even consider that. 

Sluggishly, Kat drug herself from the couch and shuffled into the bathroom, showering quickly. She just wanted to wash herself clean of everything. Not just the dirt and sweat from the day. She wanted to wash away all of the events that had been consuming her. Everything that had been eating her away inside. She wanted it gone. Off her skin and out of her hair. Cleared from the darkest depths of her mind.

But no about of scrubbing was going to take it away.

She didn’t feel like a “changed, cleansed” woman when she hopped out of the shower. She still felt like the same weighed-down and lost girl, completely alone and _scared_. 

Kat dressed in a pair of slouchy sweat pants and a tank top. Her hair found its way into its usual messy bun on the top of her head, strings of curly dark wisps falling scrappily at the base of her neck and around her face. She moved over towards her shelf where her television and stereo was located, and pressed the power button on the stereo. Her mind needed to be cleared, and she knew to do that, she had to focus on other things. 

After a moment of loading a mixed disk, music started to float from the speakers, filling her apartment. Drunk by Ed Sheeran was the first to be shuffled to as she walked into her kitchen and turned her coffee pot on. Her music taste mainly revolved around songs that had a very strong, acoustic guitar sound and soft voices. However, Maroon 5 was a guilty pleasure. 

During her brother’s teenage years, he got hooked on them and demanded she listen to them. Every time she would visit him, he would have a new song for her to go home and listen to. She did just that, every single time. 

Kat sighed softly as she leaned up against the counter. The deep aroma of her coffee started to creep through the air, indicating it was just about done. Hopefully, she thought, forcing herself to go through normal tasks would make things easier. 

So she pushed through the pain. She mixed in some milk into her coffee, followed by two overflowing scoops of sugar. Normal. 

She lifted the cup to her lips as she walked out of the kitchen and took a long sip of the hot liquid, letting out a breath after she swallowed. Normal.

She moved towards her desk and sat down in front of her laptop. She opened up the computer, pulling up the search engine, and staring back at her was her friend, smiling and bright eyed in the “news” section of the site. Underneath, the words “Killer Strikes Again” were in bold letters. Not normal. Not normal at all.

Quickly, she clicked out of the browser and closed her laptop, staring at the machine in front of her. “Maybe I’ll stay off the internet today,” she murmured, standing back up and grabbing her hot cup. 

Her bare feet padded against the wood floor, making a soft pattering noise through the empty apartment as she walked over to her couch. She sat down carefully and pulled her legs underneath her, tucking her toes against her skin to warm them. 

The music carried on softly, song after song, but none of the notes sounded right to her. Actually, nothing sounded right. Everything was just a little bit off. _She_ was off. Her mind was a hazy mess, her thoughts clouded over with anxiety, exhaustion, and grief. 

One cup of coffee down. No progress made.

Kat took her cup to the sink and dropped it in, not even bothering to run water into it like she usually would. She’d deal with it later.

She found herself walking around the living room, completely unaware as to what she should do next. Finally, she let out a small sigh. “I can’t do this,” she whispered, shaking her head. She had to get out of that apartment. Nothing good was going to come from holing herself up inside.

She moved into the bedroom and took her tank top off before pulling her bra on and a long sleeve shirt. A hoodie was the next on the list, followed by her grey Vans. Once she had grabbed her bag, she was out the door and on her way for some research. She needed to understand why this was going on, and maybe she could help herself come to terms with it.

Kat found herself more relaxed around books than anything else. She always had. They were the one thing in her life that constantly made sense and stayed the same. Everything else ended in disappointment. But books... they were always there. They gave all the right answers. They were able to take her away from whatever she had going on and transport her to somewhere else, almost like her special “mind place” technique. 

It was natural that she ended up at the nearest library. What was not natural was the section of books she found herself pawing through.

_Psychology of a Killer_  
BTK: What Went Wrong  
Richard Ramirez: The Monster Inside 

Kat gathered up as many as she could before moving over to a secluded table in the back of the library. She spread the books out on the table and sat her stuff down. Before long, she was immersed in the first book, _Psychology of a Killer_.

She scanned through the book for a while, completely forgetting her surroundings. Kat was bad about doing that. Once she was buried in the pages of a book, it took a lot to yank her back to reality. All she focused on were the words printed in front of her, line after line, pouring into her thoughts and blocking out the rest of the world.

However, something _did_ make her look up from her book this time. One moment, everything was fine. The next, she was being filled with that same gut-dropping sensation that she had felt when she _knew_ she was being watched. It was happening again. 

Her eyes lifted from the book and scanned the room around her. She was sitting between the wall and a large bookshelf, facing the front desk where the librarian was sat at her computer. 

There was nobody else around.

Nobody that she could see.

Kat stayed vigilant for a few more moments, her eyes moving slowly across the bookshelf, to the front of the library, and back around. No one.

Finally, her eyes dropped back to the page. She found herself flipping through the pages until she came across a section that caught her eye. 

_**Stalking Tendencies** _

_There have been many serial killers who also indulge in stalking their victims before they end their life. Victims may be harassed through a number of different ways, such as phone calls, text messages, emails, and even direct contact. The telephone is one of the most used tools for a stalker to try to make contact with their targets. Sometimes, stalkers may try to start a conversation over the phone, hang up quickly after the call is answered, or even make noises into the phone such as heavy breathing. They do these things to get the attention of their target. They will do whatever they c–_

“Excuse me,” an older lady whispered, bringing Kat back from the page. She glanced up at the librarian who was holding a piece of paper in her hands.

“Yes?”

“I just needed to ask you a question. Did you print this?” Kat’s brows moved together in confusion. She hadn’t printed anything. She had sat right there since she came into the building, and hadn’t moved. But then, the woman held the paper out towards the young girl.

It was a picture of Kat sitting at the library table, completely immersed in her book.

Kat snatched the paper from her hands and stared down at it, her heart dropping. After pushing away from the table furiously, she stood up and twisted her head in every direction, searching for anybody that could have took that picture. She _knew_ she had been watched. 

But she had once again not trusted her instincts.

“W-Who did this?” she hissed, turning back towards the older woman. A strange look crossed her face as she watched Kat.

“Miss, I don’t know. It’s a picture of you, so I just assum-”

Kat crumbled the paper and slammed the book closed with shaking hands, not giving the woman a chance to finish her sentence. She gathered up the books in her arms and rushed to the front counter as the librarian followed her. “Are you okay?” the frail lady asked, moving behind the counter to scan the books Kat had brought up. Kat pulled her library card from her bag and handed it to the woman.

She cleared her throat, “Yes, I’m fine. Just... Please hurry.” Her fingers meshed together nervously, her eyes moving towards any little bit of movement they caught. The woman finished scanning the books, but not without eyeing Kat nervously for a moment.

“I can call someone for you if y-”

Kat grabbed the books from her and stepped away from the counter, shaking her head. “You’re very kind but I just- I need to get home.” She started walking towards the front door, but a sound caught her attention. Slowly, she turned her head towards the row of computers that lined the wall beside the front door.

Every printer alongside each of the computers started to spit out paper, one right after another. Kat swallowed hard as the first printer right next to her finished the print. She knew she should just turn and walk out right then, but her hand shook over to the sheet and pulled it from the tray.

It was the same picture.

The prints kept filling each of the printer’s trays, more and more copies of her face being pushed out into the open, caught by some phantom eye that had evaded her paranoid search.

The sheet floated from her hand and before it could hit the floor, she was out the front door, rushing down the sidewalk back to her apartment. Her shoulders slammed into anybody in her way. She earned a few string of curses spit out at her as she pushed around people, but she hardly heard them. 

The scenery rushed by in a haze. Everything was distorted. The streets were moving too fast in her vision. The people rushed past blurredly. Her mind was completely fuzzy and her thoughts were bouncing around too quick to pick up on any of them specifically.

Her breathing was growing faster and faster with each hurried step until finally, she could exhale in relief when she was standing on her front step.

She dashed inside, skipping a step with every lunge up her stairs. She reached her door and, with shaky hands, unlocked it, letting herself inside.

“Thank god,” she breathed out, leaning against the closed door. After catching her breath for a few moments, she pushed away from the door and placed the books on her coffee table.

It was strikingly quiet in her apartment, Kat realized in a fleeting thought. She shrugged just a tad and moved into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest. She needed to take a moment to compose herself and think about what the hell had actually happened.

With a cold bottle of water in her hands, she walked over to the counter and pushed herself up to sit on it before opening the water and taking a long drink of it. Then, she began to go over the facts.

First of all, she knew she had to go to the police. This had gone on too long. The phone calls, the strange encounters with a certain green eyed boy, and now, the pictures in the library. She had to get an opinion on what was going on. At least then, she would have an idea as to what her next step should be.

She took another drink from the bottle and let out a small breath, glancing around her kitchen. She decided after getting herself at least half way presentable and having a quick lunch, she would go to the police station to tell them everything that had been going on.

That was until her eyes fell on the sink.

The coffee cup that she had sat in the sink and left unwashed was now sitting in her drying rack, nice and clean. Her heart dropped to her stomach. _Someone_ had been inside her apartment. 

She scrambled down from the counter, almost slipping once on the tile, and rushed into the living room. Her eyes scanned around for any other signs that someone had been there.   
That’s when it hit her. When she had walked in, she had a thought that it was oddly quiet inside the flat. She had forgotten to turn her stereo off when she had left for the library, as she often did. It was now turned off, and the c.d. had been removed from the stereo and was sitting on top of it. 

Kat clearly remembered unlocking the door on her way in. “How...” she whispered brokenly. Standing in the middle of the living room, she turned and looked towards her window, and of course, found the answer. Her window was just barely open, as if the person had left it cracked just to show her how they done it.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she was pulling her shoes back on and rushing straight out of the door. The police visit couldn’t wait any longer.

She stumbled into the station, all frantic eyes and messy hair, and she was sure she looked like some crazed lunatic wanting to start trouble. An officer rushed over to her. “Miss, are you okay?” he asked, stepping in front of her.

“I need to talk to someone,” she replied shakily. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I need to talk to someone about being stalked.”

The officer, B. Allen, nodded just a tad, still staring at her warily. “Come over here with me and let’s see if we can get you some help.” He motioned for her to follow him, and they both moved over towards his desk. He helped her into a chair and then took a seat across the desk in front of her before pulling out some paper and a pen. “Now, what’s your name?”

Kat wringed her hands together and answered, “Kat Samuels.”

“And what seems to be going on, Miss Samuels?”

“I- I don’t really know.” She shook her head before continuing, “I’ve been getting these weird phone calls a lot. And I just... I was at the library today and the printers started to print out all these pictures of me that had been taken as I was sitting there reading an-”

The officer jumped in, “Go back to the phone calls. Can you tell me about those?”

Kat backtracked just a bit and nodded. “Yes, sir. They... well, they never say anything when they call. It’s just this heavy breathing. But the other night, this god-awful scream just...” Kat let out a small breath as her chest felt like it was caving in on itself. 

“It’s alright, we can come back to that,” Allen murmured, scribbling away at the paper. “Is there anyone you suspect may be playing a prank on you? Anyone that could be doing this?”

Of course she had a suspect in her mind. She didn’t have much proof that it was Harry, but it was literally the only person she could think of. “Maybe,” Kat squeaked with a tiny nod. “I mean, I’ve only spoke to him twice. His name is Harry.”

“Does he have your phone number?” She shook her head. The officer nodded and wrote a bit more. “Is there anything else?”

Kat paused and thought about it. “I... I think someone broke into my apartment.” Allen glanced up at her from the paper.

“Why do you think that? Do you have proof?”

And that was when she felt stupid. She didn’t have any _physical_ evidence that someone had been inside. All she had was a clean cup, a relocated c.d., and a barely-open window. “I mean,” she stammered, shrugging, “not physical proof. But I just _know_ it. You have to believe me.” The words came out desperate and pleading, making her sound pitiful, as much as she hated it.

“Was your door locked?” he asked, ignoring her final statement.

“Yes sir bu-”

“Did they take anything?”

“No, sir, th-”

“Then what did they do?”

Dropping her head to her hands, Kat sighed heavily. “I’m losing my mind.”

The officer laid his pen down and stared at the girl. “I don’t believe that, Miss Samuels, but I do believe you’re letting everything get to you. Is there a reason you could be stressed out?”

Kat lifted her head and wiped a stray tear away from her face. “M- My friend, Kim... She was the latest victim.”

Allen nodded knowingly. “I knew I recognized you. You came on the scene at the bookstore. She was your friend, huh?” Kat nodded. “That’s your problem right there. Listen,” he said gently, leaning forwards a bit on the desk, “I want you to go home. Lock your doors and windows, and rest. Take a long nap. Maybe take a hot bubble bath, or whatever it is you like to do. Just _calm down_.”

“It’s hard,” she whimpered, still twisting her fingers together. 

He nodded again. “I understand, but right now, you’re letting your mind become your worst enemy, and it’s making everything so much worse.” Kat obviously didn’t look convinced, so he continued. “If it’ll make you feel better, here’s my card. If you need _anything_ , give me a call.” He scribbled a cell phone number on the back of it before handing it over to her with a sympathetic smile. She took it and pushed it into her pocket after eyeing it for a moment. “We’ll look into this and if anything comes up, I’ll ring you.” She gave him her number, which he wrote down on the paper, before they both stood and shook hands.

She wanted to beg him to listen to her. She wanted to fall to her knees and refuse to leave until they agreed to do something _right then_ about what was going on. But she didn’t. She said her goodbyes and left the police station, her heart sitting high in her throat nervously.

She made it to her apartment without any issues, but as soon as the door was shut and locked, her phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket as she moved to the window, shutting it and locking it. Another unknown number, of course. It sent her gut twisting into knots, and she instantly felt sick. 

She lifted the phone to her ear and took a deep breathing before croaking, “Hello?” There was nothing but silence on the other end. “Who is this?” The breathing started up, sending a chill shooting down her spine. “Who is this?!” she cried a bit louder, her voice shaking audibly. “Damnit, stop calling me!” 

She jerked the phone from her ear and hurriedly ended the call. 

_Sometimes, stalkers may try to start a conversation over the phone, hang up quickly after the call is answered, or even make noises into the phone such as heavy breathing._

_Looking back now in hindsight, everything I needed to piece it all together was there. Every puzzle piece was laid out in front of me, and I don’t know if it was the exhaustion from not enough sleep or just pure blissful ignorance that led me to think maybe I was going to be spared. I should have bolted right then. Never looked back. But do I ever do what I should? Harry would probably laugh and roll his eyes at that question. Maybe snort out a “hell no.” He’s right though. I never do. And probably never will._


	7. Chapter 7

The days came and went by in a blur. Words and phrases such as _investigation, drawn out process, takes a long time,_ and _cover every lead_ became regulars in Kat’s mind as they were being used every time she tried to ask a question. Work had been postponed until the following week. For the first two days after the incident, they kept the whole place on lockdown, scouring over every little piece of evidence and then finally washing everything clean.

It was as if it didn’t happen. The only thing that was a constant reminder of it was the missing laughter and banter that Kat was so used to.

Kat tried to get back into a normal schedule. She really did. But the fact that none of this was going away made it tough for her to focus on getting back to normal.

The phone calls were still coming in. They would come at the most random of times, but they were far more frequent at night. They were always either blocked or different numbers every time, so once she blocked one number, another would take its place.

The only thing that did decrease was the number of victims. Since Kim’s murder, there had been no other losses of life, which was very much a relief.

But it still didn’t help with the fact that one of those losses had been her only friend. Those other girls mattered, yes. But when something like that hits as close to home as it did to Kat, it’s a different feeling.

Soon, it was Tuesday. Kat watched the sun creep in through the cracks of her curtains, bringing in what was supposed to be new life and a feeling of renewal. All she felt was complete despair and anxiety.

Her bed was in in shambles, the covers strewn everywhere and the pillows thrown all over the mattress. She had tossed and turned without a wink of sleep.

Maybe it was what he wanted. Maybe this was _his_ way of doing things. His tactic. Maybe he tries to wear the target down before catching up with them. Their guard was down and they weren’t thinking straight. Throw in a bit of paranoia and you’ve got a done deal. It was the perfect method.

But that’s not what the dominant burden weighing on Kat’s mind was. 

She pushed herself out of the messy sheets and padded into the kitchen to turn her coffee pot on. The scent fragranced the air after a few moments, giving her just a hint of the normality that she so desperately craved. Kat sighed as the sound of the liquid pouring into the pot trickled around her. It was almost soothing, lulling her mind to ease and pushing the sides of her lip upwards into a tiny smile.

It was familiarity. It was something that didn’t change in her life, just like books. It was something constant and never-changing. Completely reliable.

It was something she greatly needed right then. 

The final drops of the hot liquid trickled into the pot below as Kat opened a cabinet and grabbed a coffee cup. She filled it almost full, leaving just enough room for a splash of milk and two mounding spoonfuls of sugar. Normalcy.

She stirred the drink before making her way into the living room. As she moved over towards the couch, her phone buzzed on her bedside table before she could get sat down. She set the steaming cup down on the coffee table and quickly trotted into the bedroom to grab her phone.

**From: Stacy  
To: Kat**

**_Hey, how r u today?_ **

As she walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch, she typed out a response.

**From: Kat  
To: Stacy**

**_I’m not too sure, I guess. Better day by day. What about you?_ **

**From: Stacy  
To: Kat**

**_Abt the same. We should get lunch 2day. Mr. Roberts just called me abt Kim’s arrangements._ **

Kat sat her phone down for just a moment, taking time to sip her coffee and think about the offer. She wasn’t really “friends” with Stacy, but who else did she have at this point? Kat had always been one to mainly stay to herself, but with the messy life she was living in now, it didn’t hurt to let _someone_ in. After taking another drink of her cooling coffee, she picked her phone back up and responded.

**From: Kat  
To: Stacy**

**_Yeah, that sounds nice. Meet me at Bennie’s Bistro at 1. I’ll see you there. xx_ **

After finishing her coffee, Kat showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, not bothering to dress up. Thankfully though, she managed to fix her hair and put on a bit of makeup, which she hadn’t done in days. She had gotten maybe three hours of sleep the night before and actually felt somewhat better. It still wasn’t her normal six-eight hours she was used to, but it was a welcomed change to the broken pattern she had been dealing with since everything started.

After straightening up her apartment a bit (normality; it’s key), it was time to head towards the small restaurant near her apartment.

Kat slipped her shoes on and grabbed her bag before locking the door tight and walking out of her apartment building. When she stepped onto the sidewalk (which took a hell of a lot of guts at this point) she commended herself for persevering. She could have sat in her apartment behind locked doors, glancing out of her curtains every five seconds and jumping at every little noise, but she wasn’t. She was pushing through for the sake of Kim, even if it meant struggling every step of the way. 

She wasn’t letting it take control of her life. Some people would argue that was a complete lie, and Kat might have somewhat agreed. But it helped her to pretend that she was moving on like she should be. 

Soon, she found herself slipping through the doors of the small bistro and scanning the faces in front of her until her eyes landed on the petite blonde against the wall. Stacy waved her hand as Kat walked over towards her table. She stood up from her chair and pulled the other girl into a tight hug.

“So good to see you,” Stacy murmured as she pulled away and sat back in her seat. Kat took the seat in front of her and smiled gently.

“How have you been?” Kat asked. She sat her purse beside her on the floor and looked up at the girl.

Stacy shrugged just a bit as the waiter walked over and took Kat’s drink order. “As well as I can be, I guess,” she responded after he had walked away. They both grabbed a menu and glanced over it for a few moments.

It was obvious that something was hanging in the air. It was almost like a black cloud that neither one of them wanted to acknowledge. Eventually though, the air got just a bit too thick and the cloud surrounded them.

“Um.. Mr. Roberts called me.” Kat looked up from the menu and met Stacy’s eyes. “Kim’s funeral is Thursday. They finally finished the- uh- autopsy.” Pausing to clear her throat, Stacy dropped her gaze back to the menu. “The family invited us to be there.”

Kat inhaled deeply as she nodded. “Nice of them,” she replied.

“Kim really thought a lot of you, Kat. I don’t know if you realize that.”

She knew Kim considered her a friend; that much was very evident. But she didn’t know to what extent it went. “She was a good friend of mine.” Kat let out a small sigh, trying to swallow the lump that was starting to form in her throat. 

Stacy closed the menu in her hand and continued speaking, “She thought of you as like, a miniature version of herself, I guess. Like, I know we’re all acquaintances and whatever at work, but I couldn’t ever try to have a bond like you and she did. Kim loved you, Kat. She wanted the best for you.”

Kat didn’t know how to respond to this. She wanted to hug Kim and thank her and just tell her how much she meant to her, but that was very much impossible at that point. Even if she knew what she wanted to say to Stacy, Kat couldn’t find her voice.

Luckily, the waiter walked over to take their order, biding just a bit more time for Kat to take a few deep breaths and choke down the sick feeling that was creeping up her throat. “-and no mayo, please,” Stacy spoke to the waiter. 

He turned his attention to Kat. “Oh, um, just the grilled chicken sandwich plate. Thank you,” she said, thankful that her voice had returned. Once he walked away, Stacy looked back at her expectantly. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” Kat closed the menu and put it back in its spot. Without the object in her hands, she didn’t know what to focus on. 

As Stacy let out a sigh, Kat folded her hands together, opting to stare at them instead of the girl in front of her. “I know you don’t like to talk a lot, Kat, but keeping all of this in isn’t going to help anything.”

Kat let out her own sigh, “It’s not that I don’t like to talk. I just don’t want to talk about _this_.”

“Which isn’t healthy.”

“A lot of things aren’t healthy.”

“Kat,” Stacy snapped, dropping her hands flat on the table, “cut it out. We all lost someone Friday night. Not just you.”

Kat’s eyes jerked up towards her as her jaw dropped. “What did you say?”

The bravery on her face immediately cracked and she stammered over her words a tad before taking a deep breath and speaking. “Kim was my friend too. I know- I know you don’t like me, okay? I’ve always known that. But we _both_ lost a close friend that night. And I think we should kind of- I don’t know. Come together? Be there for each other? I-” She paused to sigh and run a hand into her dirty blonde hair. “I need to talk about all this. I need to get it out. And I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

Kat sat there with her mouth slightly jarred, not quite sure what to say. She was completely stunned. She hadn’t expected Stacy to need to talk to _her_ , of all people. And honestly, Kat felt awful. She had been a total bitch to this poor girl and hadn’t thought twice about judging her when she had no right to judge. Stacy and Kim had been friends too, and Kat had been too worried with her own problems to realize she wasn’t the only person that was mourning this loss.

“Stacy,” Kat exhaled, shaking her head, “I’m so sorry.”

“W-What?”

Kat stared at the confused girl, locking her blue ones with Stacy’s brown. “I’m sorry. I’ve been awful to you.”

Stacy dropped her eyes and fiddled with her fingers. “Oh. Well, it’s okay, I guess.”

“No, it’s not,” Kat protested. “I’ve been a bitch. I never meant to do it. I just didn’t realize how I was acting. And I’m genuinely sorry.”

“Kat, really. It’s okay. I know you’re under a lot and whatever and I know I’m not the best person in the world to work with.” Stacy looked back up at Kat, the tiniest smirk breaking through her features. “Always commenting about the boys that come in and barely pulling my weight.”

Kat couldn’t help but crack a smile and let out a giggle. “You do draw in most of the male population that comes into the store. You’re getting us business _and_ helping the illiteracy rate all in one fatal swoop.”

Stacy let out a laugh just as the waiter walked over carrying their food. He sat the plates down before Stacy spoke again. “So, you’re going right? You’re not going to make me be there alone?”

“I would never do that. I’ll be there.”

They ate in silence for a long while, just enjoying being around someone that knew what the other was going through. It was nice to feel that sort of bond, even if it was because of something so tragic. Even though this wasn’t the “normalcy” that Kat had been searching for, it was still an appreciated change that she could see becoming a regular thing. 

“You know,” Stacy mumbled after swallowing a bite of her food, “this whole situation has had me on edge.”

Kat nodded and wiped her mouth. “You’re telling me.” She huffed out a small laugh as her mind raced back to the police visit. 

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Really.”

“No, come on. Tell me,” Stacy urged.

“Well,” Kat finally shrugged, “I guess I let everything sort of get to my head. I went to the police Saturday.”

Stacy made a face as she took a drink of her water. “What made you do that?”

“I mean, I just got freaked out, I guess. I’ve been getting some prank phone calls and I came home from the library and I just thought some things had been misplaced.”

“Prank calls? Like the ones Kim got?” Stacy’s voice grew strangely quiet and the tone made Kat’s gut feel a bit uneasy.

“Y-Yeah. I guess so.” Suddenly, Kat didn’t feel as hungry as she did before. She had made it about three-fourths of the way through her plate of food, and it just didn’t look appetizing anymore. 

“You went to the police though, right? What did they say?”

Stacy was staring at Kat, completely ignoring her food as well. The worry in her eyes bothered Kat more than it probably should. “They said they would look into it, but without proof there wasn’t much they could do.”

“What kind of proof does it take? Another dead body?!” she cried, her voice raising just a bit higher than normal. Kat bit her bottom lip as her eyes searched for anything to focus on other than the panicked girl in front of her. Stacy sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just... they _always_ do this. They should learn by now.”

“I know,” Kat nodded. “But I’ve just... started ignoring the calls. I don’t answer them if I don’t have the number saved anymore. And no other weird things have happened since then.”

“Kat, listen to me, okay?” Stacy reached over the table and took Kat’s hands in hers, taking Kat completely by surprise. She stared up at the young girl. “If anything- and I mean _anything_ \- else happens, you have to promise me you’ll tell me. Tell somebody.” Kat must have taken too long to answer because Stacy squeezed her hands tight within her own. “Promise me.”

She nodded quickly. “I promise I will.” Stacy held her hands for just a few more moments before Kat apparently had convinced her and she released them.

“I don’t want to go through this again. One time is too many.”

The girls spoke for a bit longer before they pushed away from the table to leave. They hugged tight, maybe a bit too tight for Kat’s liking. Stacy was genuinely scared, and she of course had every right to be. She had lost one person that was fairly close to her, and she was worried that she may lose another before it was all said and done.

Two days later, Kat stared into her bathroom mirror, clad in all black. Her hair was neat and fixed, and her makeup was on. She was ready physically, but mentally, she was dragging her heels the whole time.

Kat never did well with funerals. She hated the concept of death and the “final goodbyes.” But then again, who doesn’t? Kat just found herself always having a rough time saying goodbye to people she cared about. She never knew when was the right time to let go.

But she pushed through the reluctance. Kat found her way to the small church where the funeral was being held. Just as she reached the front door, the sick feeling began to work its way back into the pit of her stomach. Her hand rested on the handle of the door, shaking just barely.   
“I can’t do this,” she whispered to herself as she withdrew it from the door. She turned to bolt as fast as she could, put a body stood in her way.

“Oh, Kat,” Stacy sighed, a relieved smile on her lips, “I thought that was you. I didn’t want to go in alone.” She wrapped her arm around Kat’s shoulders.

“Stacy, I can’t do this,” she murmured again. A cold sweat had broken out on Kat’s skin, making her body shiver even under the heavy coat she was wearing.

Stacy pushed her slightly towards the door but gave her an understanding nod. “I know it’s hard, but we’re going to do this. For Kim.”

And that was all Kat needed. She sucked in a heavy breath and shuffled into the church. It was already crowded with a line forming in front of the casket. Kat’s eyes stayed glued to the object at the front of the church. 

_“There’s a body in there. Her body,”_ she thought. She clenched her eyes close and swallowed hard to contain the bile that was rising.

“Look, there’s Mr. Roberts.” Stacy took Kat’s hand and pulled her past the line of people to where the older gentleman stood. He was talking with Kim’s husband, Ben. He was a handsome man, but you had to look past the tired eyes and blotchy, tear-soaked cheeks to see that. 

“Oh, there’s my girls,” Mr. Roberts sighed as he turned towards them. “You two have already met Benjamin, correct?” Stacy and Kat both nodded and took turns hugging the man.

When it was Kat’s turn, she whispered, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“I’m really glad you two came,” he said, a sad smile forced onto his lips as they pulled away. “She loved both of you so very much.”

“How are you?” Stacy asked.

“I’m making it.” Ben nodded but the look on his face told a completely different story. It told a story of a wife gone too soon, robbed of the perfect love story that they both so dearly deserved. It told a story of unborn babies and grandchildren that never would be. A story of an unfair world where the good in life is not always obvious.

Kat’s eyes trailed around the room as Mr. Roberts and Ben continued their quiet conversation. Kim’s family stood next to the husband. An older couple, obviously Kim’s parents, stood firm and strong right next to the casket. A younger woman stood beside them with a child’s hand in her own. Kat recognized the woman as Kim’s older sister, Amelia, and the child was Kim’s niece Zoe. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old, and it broke Kat’s heart that she had to go through that. It just wasn’t fair.

Unfamiliar faces were all that Kat saw after that group. People moved through the line, shaking hands with the family and then turning to either walk out of the church or converse with people who had moved to the side of the room.

An unfamiliar sea of people that all share the same sad, worn-out eyes. The look was identical on every face in the line. Some showed a bit more than others, but overall, every face was pulled tight with dread and sadness.

All but one.

Emotionless green eyes locked with hers and Kat felt her body shutter. His face was smooth and calm, showing no signs of the typical miserable expression every other person in that room shared. 

And he was moving towards her.

Harry bypassed the line and walked straight over towards Kat’s group of people. She found herself taking an involuntary step back as he got closer to her. “What are you doing?” Stacy whispered, turning to look in the direction that Kat was staring. “Oooh, is that your boyfriend?” 

Kat opened her mouth to protest, but Harry got to her before she could. “I was hoping I’d see you here,” he sighed, his eyebrows creasing together. “I’m really sorry about your friend. When I heard about what happened I just- I couldn’t believe it.”

She swallowed hard and clenched her shaking hands into fists at her sides. “What are you doing here?” she croaked. Her voice quivered along with her bottom lip. She had turned into a trembling mess, ready to fall apart at the seams at any moment.

He looked slightly offended as he shook his head. “I came to pay my respects like everyone else.”

“Kat, are you okay?” Stacy mumbled into her ear, eyeing the boy in front of them. “Do you need me to give you two some alone time?”

“No!” Kat cried. She lowered her voice and spoke again, “I mean, no. We’re fine.” Stacy gave the two a wary glance before turning back to continue speaking with Ben and Mr. Roberts.

“How are you?” Harry asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I know it’s gotta be rough to deal with this.”

Kat was completely appalled. Why was Harry, of all people, worried about how she was feeling? He had manage to terrify her, and now here he was standing right in front of her, concerned about how she was dealing with her friend’s death.

Maybe she had been wrong, after all. She had been wrong about judging Stacy so harshly, so what was to say that she hadn’t done the same exact thing to Harry? Of course, she had a few more reasons to believe that Harry wasn’t as good of a guy as he put on, but was he really stalker/murderer potential?

“Not good,” she finally sighed. She ran a hand into her hair and shrugged. “She was a really close friend of mine.”

Harry nodded. “I’ve lost a few people close to me. It never gets easier.”

“How’d you know Kim?”

“I didn’t really, I guess. I had been in the bookstore a few times and seen her working. She was always so nice,” he replied.

Kat stared at him, a bit confused. “If you didn’t know her, why are you here?”

“Well, funny story,” he laughed. Harry raked a hand through his curls to push them back away from his forehead. “I kind of figured you would be here, since you two were coworkers, and I wanted to check to make sure you were okay.”

He wanted to make sure she was okay. Now, she felt even worse. “Oh.” Her voice came out slightly surprised as she shook her head. “Well, uh, thank you. I guess.”

Harry smiled gently before his eyes flicked over towards the family. “Excuse me. Give me just a second.” He stepped away from Kat and began to move down the line of the family.   
First, he stopped at Kim’s parents. He shook her father’s hand and hugged her mother, speaking to them in a soft voice, sending his condolences. He then went to Amelia and hugged her before kneeling down in front of Zoe. He asked her a question to which she nodded, and ruffled the curls on her head before standing back up straight and turning to Ben. 

“Are you a friend of Kim’s?” Ben asked.

“No, sir. I’m a friend of Kat’s. I’m just here for moral support.” Harry pushed his hand in Ben’s direction, which he accepted and shook warmly. 

“Well, we really appreciate you coming.” 

Harry nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss, mate. She was clearly loved.”

Ben sighed as they released the grip on their hands and withdrew them. “She was. She was a beautiful person.” He took a deep breath before he could start to tear up again.

After patting Ben’s shoulder, Harry stepped back in front of Kat. “You sure you’re going to be okay?” Harry asked, pushing his hands back into his pockets.

Kat nodded, “Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Well, I felt like I should. But really, I need to be heading out. It was good to see you again, Kat. Hate that it was under these circumstances.” Harry leaned in towards her, engulfing her in a comforting hug. If Kat hadn’t still been in complete shock, she probably would have enjoyed it. He smelled heavenly and it was just nice to feel like something was actually holding her body together where she was ripping at the seams.

“Thanks again,” she murmured into his shoulder before pulling away. 

He smiled lopsidedly, one side of his lips pulling up just a bit further than the other. “See ya.” Harry turned away to walk past the line of people but stopped before he got too far. “Oh, and Kat?” he said as he turned around. 

“Yeah?”

The smile disappeared from his face completely as he stared at her, his eyes scanning her for just a moment. “You might need to get some sleep. You look _terribly_ tired.”

The whole room started to collapse around Kat as she gazed at the boy. She was sure the walls were going to fall around her and swallow her whole. She actually wished it would happen, but she had no such luck. The people around her continued like nothing was going on. Inside though, she felt sick. She couldn’t pull enough air into her lungs to satisfy the burning sensation that had gripped her chest. In her mind, the world had stopped, but in reality, nobody else had noticed. Nobody else knew.

Harry seemed satisfied by her reaction. He chuckled once before turning back around and continuing out of the church like nothing had happened.

It was at that point that Kat knew what she had to do.

She needed to get the hell out of that city.


	8. Chapter 8

“Damnit!” Glass shattered at Kat’s feet as the cup slipped from her trembling hands, sending razor sharp splinters scattering across the tile. She jumped backwards away from the focal point of the fall, trying to save her feet from the tiny shards. Once the fragments had stopped skittering over the floor, Kat let out a small sigh and raised a hand to her forehead.

She could feel the life she built up for the past three years crumbling all around her and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t find the strength to pick of the pieces. It was splintering apart like the glass on the floor, falling and breaking apart in so many different pieces that Kat didn’t know where to start to put it back together. 

There was only one thing that she was sure of. It was time to go home.

Kat hated the thought of running back to her family without hauling her brother in through the door with her, but the hope had slowly slipped from her mind. She had to do this for herself now. She couldn’t risk her life by continuing her search for something she wasn’t even sure wanted to be found.

She grabbed the broom and quickly swept up the mess on the floor before grabbing a different wine glass and filling it nearly to the brim with her favorite wine. After taking a quick sip, she moved into the living room and stared at the mess. 

There were books scattered across the floor. A box of dishware sat on the couch. Her life was being packed away box after box, and as much as Kat hated it, she knew it had to be this way. She couldn’t stay in a town where she was afraid to even go to work. She couldn’t keep living in fear any longer.

The sun had set outside, enveloping the apartment in shadows. Every light in the small space was turned on, but there were always places that the light couldn’t touch. Those were the parts that were always scariest. It was even scarier when she realized the apartment mirrored the darkened form that had taken over her usually clear mind.

The shadows that had taken over her mind were caused by not the light refusing to reach the corners of the room, but instead by the threat of a menacing entity stalking her throughout her daily life. 

Kat continued into the living room and sat on the floor in front of her bookshelf, setting the wine glass on one of the empty shelves after taking another long sip. She continued placing the books into the boxes until the whole bookshelf was empty. The sight of it almost broke her heart, but she pushed forward. 

She wanted to make this seem as much like it was her idea as she could. In reality, she hardly had a choice, but that didn’t stop her from telling herself that she was the one in control of her life.

She wasn’t sure if that was the truth anymore.

Kat pushed herself from the floor and finished off the glass of wine. As she padded into the kitchen for another, her phone began to ring on the coffee table. It hadn’t rang all night and, for some strange reason, she had begun to think that maybe that was the end of the calls.

As soon as it started to ring, she knew that was a stupid assumption.

Her heart was sitting deep within her stomach as she walked over to the table and grabbed it, staring at the display on the screen. Unknown. She declined the call and for just a moment, the ringing ceased. But as soon as she sat the phone back on the table top, the ringing started up yet again. Unknown. 

This pattern continued three more times until she was sitting on the couch cross-legged, staring at the phone. With one final ring, Kat declined it and quickly pushed the power button on the phone. After it had shut off, she tossed it in front of her onto the table, never taking her eyes off the device. 

She couldn’t understand how something so small like a cell phone could strike so much fear to her core and terrorize her relentlessly.

For a few moments, Kat just sat there. Fleetingly, she wondered how quickly she could get on a plane and hop the county. But she knew she had to at least tell Stacy she was leaving. Stacy didn’t deserve to be left wondering how she lost yet another person in this crazy mess.

She finally pushed herself from the couch and jumped in the shower before climbing into the cold sheets. Getting to sleep that night wasn’t the problem, it was staying asleep that seemed to cause her the most issues. 

The lights in the apartment stayed on through the rest of the night. 

 

The next morning, Kat woke up at her normal time, bleary-eyed and still excruciatingly tired. But she knew this was going to be the last morning she had to do this. That gave her a bit of hope as she pushed herself off the mattress and got dressed.

After dressing, she forced herself to pack up a few more boxes of her belongings. Her feet dragged every second of the way, but she didn’t let herself stop. A few hours and many boxes later, most of her life was packed away in cardboard containers, hiding away just like she was. 

Kat found herself sitting on the couch, forcing down a half of a sandwich that she had been working on for nearly an hour, staring at the near empty space around her. Everything she had worked for over the past three years had been tore down in front of her because of something she lost control of. It shouldn’t have been like this, but it was. And there was nothing she could do about it other than run back home and admit defeat.

But it was time.

Kat was soon on her way to the bookstore where it all happened. Her sunglasses sat on the top of her head, the dreary clouds above making them completely pointless. She tried to focus on anything she could while she walked, but it wasn’t going well at all. With every step she took, she felt the bile rising higher and higher, forming a lump right in the base of her throat. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets, clenching the phone as tight as she could in her right one. 

The decision to walk to the shop was beginning to look worse every time someone passed her just a little too close, causing her heart to slam against the inside of her chest. Every muscle in her body was tense and ready to jump to a fight. Kat wasn’t much of a fighter, but if needed, she felt like she could put up a pretty good struggle. She just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

A man in a brown overcoat passed her, his elbow skimming against her arm just barely. Kat turned her head quickly in surprise and gasped out. This earned a strange look from the passing gentleman. He probably was considering calling the cops on the suspicious, absolutely paranoid woman walking down the street. She couldn’t say she blamed him.

When she realized the man posed no threat, Kat continued her journey towards the bookstore. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to make that her first stop. She just had hoped that Stacy had received her text to meet her there after getting no response back from her. 

She knew it was awful to think that way, but after ten minutes of no response back from Stacy, Kat’s mind immediately started jumping to conclusions. She assumed the worst had happened. Stacy had fell victim to the crazed killer running the streets of the city, and he was coming after her next.

Kat swallowed hard in a desperate attempt to contain the awful lump that still resided there, but with no luck. Still, she pressed on, like so many times before.

As she was walking though, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her and grasped her elbow, sending her heart plummeting into her stomach. Her already tensed muscles suddenly lurched into action, spinning her around on her heel and pulling her arm back to fend off the potential attacker. A small noise slipped from her throat, a mixture of what sounded like a gasp and a cry for help, and before she could comprehend what exactly was happening, she was face to face with the assailant.

Her eyes found a confused elderly lady staring back at her, her face masked in concern and fear. In her hand she held Kat’s sunglasses. “Miss,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to the sunglasses before moving back up to Kat, “you dropped these just a bit back. Thought you may want them returned.”

Kat’s body didn’t move an inch. Her eyes flickered over to her raised hand, then back to the older woman. “I-” she whispered. Her voice cracked slightly as she shook her head, her hand dropping to her side. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” She reached forward and took the sunglasses from the lady.

As her eyebrows creased together, she gave Kat a concerned once-over before meeting her gaze one final time and turning away. Kat sighed softly. She was making the right decision, she concluded, slipping the sunglasses into her purse as she turned and continued walking towards the bookstore. She needed to get out of London.

Eventually, the building loomed in front of her, the sinister events casting an invisible cloud over the once bright, joyful place. Her hand pushed into her pocket and grabbed her keys, but she couldn’t bring herself to unlock the door and let herself in. Not alone, at least.

She stood by the door for just a few minutes, constantly checking her phone in hopes that Stacy would send her some sort of message to let her know she was on her way. Finally, Kat heard a high-pitched voice shrill from behind her. “Kat!” Stacy called as Kat spun around to face the blonde. Stacy sprinted over towards Kat and immediately pulled her into a hug, much to her surprise.

“Um, hello to you too,” Kat laughed. She patted Stacy’s back before pulling away. 

“I was so worried. Your message scared me and I just... I guess I panicked.” Stacy drew in a breath as she took a step back from Kat. “I was worried something had happened.”

Kat looked down slowly towards her feet. “Stacy...”

“Kat, what is it?” She finally lifted her gaze as Stacy placed a gentle hand on her arm. “What happened?”

Kat cleared her throat. “Can we go inside?”

“You want to go in there? Are you sure?” 

“I have to grab some stuff,” Kat spoke softly, reaching her hand up to scratch the back of her neck, “and I didn’t want to come here alone.” Stacy stared at the other girl for just a few moments, a strange look masking her true emotions. It made it impossible for Kat to read her, and she thought that maybe that was best that she wasn’t able to.

Stacy finally sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t have been able to come here alone. What do you need to pick up?”

Kat finally unlocked the door and walked in, holding it open for the younger girl. “Stacy,” she exhaled, shutting and locking the door behind them. The shop was dim, the only light coming in from what meager glow was breaking through the clouds. Everything was as it was when they left Friday night. The only difference was that instead of three girls standing in there now, there were two girls dealing with the aftermath.

“This doesn’t sound good,” Stacy replied, walking slowly towards the counter. 

Kat huffed out a small laugh and pulled a hand through her hair. “It’s not.” They stopped at the counter. Kat could feel Stacy’s eyes boring into her, waiting for her to continue. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to tell her that she was leaving London. Honestly, she felt quite guilty. Stacy already lost one friend, and now Kat was leaving her to deal with this mess alone. “Stacy, I came here to tell you that- well,” Kat sighed, “I’m going to go home.”

“Home?” Stacy cocked up an eyebrow. “You just came from home didn’t you?”

“No, Stacy. I mean home home. Back to the states.” Silence surrounded the two of them as they stood there, filling the air with an uncomfortable tension that Kat couldn’t stand. She was usually the one creating the awkward silence, and often, she found herself spilling her words to try to fill the quiet. But this time, no other words found their way from her lips. 

Stacy was the first to speak. “Is this about why you went to the police?” she asked, her voice low as if there were others around that were going to hear them. Kat stayed completely silent still, refusing to answer. “Kat, if there’s something going on, you can tell me.”

“It’s not completely that,” Kat finally answered. 

“Well what exactly is it?”

Kat shook her head. “It’s a bunch of things. I’m alone here. My family is back there. And honestly, everything that’s happened here lately has just got to be too much to handle.”

“And there is absolutely nothing I can say to stop you?” Stacy asked, her voice small and weak. Kat wanted to say yes, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to the girl.

“No, there’s not.”

Stacy let out a sigh and tore her gaze away from Kat. “I guess I can’t blame you. I couldn’t live this far away from my family.” She fiddled with her fingers for just a moment before speaking again, “Does Mr. Roberts know?”

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I only decided last night. That’s why I called you here. I... I needed to leave him a letter and I just couldn’t be here by myself.”

“You know, it’s weird.” Kat glanced over at Stacy. “It’s like nothing happened here. They cleaned it all up. There’s just... no trace of her at all.”

Kat nodded as she turned away and walked around to the inside of the counter. “I hate it,” she exhaled. “And you know she would too.”

Stacy huffed out a laugh, “You’re right.” Kat dug through her purse and pulled out a folded envelop. “Is that for Mr. Roberts?” 

“Yeah,” she answered, flipping the item in her hand a few times. “I hate doing this to him, but-”

“Kat, you don’t have to explain. I would probably be doing the same exact thing right now if I was in your situation.” Kat started to speak but Stacy continued, cutting her off before she had a chance to. “I can give that to him, if you want. I can explain everything to him.”

“Would you really do that?”

“I would. You go get your stuff figured out. Do what you have to.”

A tiny smile cracked across Kat’s lips. “Stace, you’re a really good friend. I know we’ve had our moments, but... you’re not that bad.”

Stacy stuck her tongue out half-heartedly at the light insult. “Well, you’re still the antisocial bookworm I met when I first started.” Kat’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “But,” Stacy continued, smiling softly, “I’ve always wanted to consider you a friend. I guess I finally got my wish. Now, let’s get your stuff and get you home, shall we?”

They spent the next two hours digging out any and all of Kat’s documents and belongings that she had left their over the time that she had worked there. They found themselves reminiscing more than doing their work, though. The small talk that Kat had grown so fond of over the years was back once again. The only thing different this time was that the witty, down to earth brunette was now replaced by an energetic, chirpy blonde with a voice that was slightly too loud, but just what Kat needed.

Even after they had gathered up all of Kat’s things, they sat there on the floor, legs sprawled out in front of them as they leaned back against the counter, and talked about anything and everything that came to them. Before they knew it, the day had disappeared on them and the sun had begun to sink closer to the horizon.

“I think it’s time for me to go,” Kat sighed, pushing herself from the floor. She held a hand out towards Stacy and helped her up as well.

Stacy nodded. “Yeah, same here. But, keep in touch, okay Kat?” Kat inhaled deeply and gave her a simple nod, starting to turn away. Stacy, on the other hand, had a different idea. She threw her arms around Kat quickly, engulfing her in a tight hug. “I’ll miss you.”

Kat stood there awkwardly for only a second before choosing to reciprocate the hug. “I’ll miss you too,” she finally whispered. Her voice cracked slightly as she tightened her arms around the girl. 

Suddenly, as they began to pull away, a shrill ring erupted through the shop, causing both of their bodies to jerk in surprise. What little bit of relief Kat had started to feel completely vanished inside of her with every ring of that phone. Her heart began to race inside of her as they both turned towards the phone on the counter, staring at it like it was the monster itself.

“Who in the world,” Stacy mumbled as her hand reached towards the receiver.

Kat’s hand shot out as well, grabbing Stacy’s and stopping her before she could pick it up. “Don’t,” she warned. Stacy stared at Kat for a few moments and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“It’s okay,” Stacy murmured, giving Kat’s hand a squeeze before pulling it away. She picked up the still ringing receiver and brought it to her ear. “Roberts Bookstore, how may I help you?” Her eyes flickered over towards Kat before taking the phone away from her ear. 

“What is it?” Kat whispered.

Stacy sputtered over her words for just a moment before finally spitting out, “It’s for you.”

Kat’s jaw hung slightly slack as she stared at her friend. Swallowing hard, Kat finally reached out for the receiver and brought it to her ear shakily. “H-Hello?” she stammered after taking a heavy breath.

Silence was the only thing going over the line. Dark, terrifying silence. The lump that had been so terribly present made its appearance once again deep in her throat, and as much as she tried to swallow it down, it wouldn’t dislodge. She felt like she was being strangled by the silence on the other end of the phone. What little bit of contentment she had felt earlier had completely slipped away and was now replaced by the heavy weight of dread.

She started to jerk the phone away from her ear, but as she did, a deep laugh broke through the silence, turning her stomach. She felt her knees go weak beneath her as the receiver dropped from her hand. The room started to spin around her, twisting and turning her mind to the point where she felt like she could fall over at any moment.

Kat could hear Stacy calling out for her, but the words were muddled. It was as if her ears were filled with water, refusing to let the words come in clearly. She couldn’t focus on anything but the phone in front of her on the counter.

Before she knew what she was doing, she grasped the machine, and in one fatal movement, she jerked it from the counter and flung the phone across it forcefully. It clattered against the floor with a loud crash, but the sound didn’t reach Kat. 

All she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears, rumbling thunderously inside of her. Her whole body trembled as her chest heaved up and down. She had reached the breaking point and had tipped over the edge that she was dangling too close to. 

When Stacy’s words finally started to pierce Kat’s eardrums, she snapped her eyes to the girl beside her. “-ou okay?! Kat?! Can you hear me?!” Stacy grasped Kat’s shoulders and shook her once, trying to reach the girl that was falling apart right in front of her. “Kat! Answer me!”

Kat sucked in a ragged breath. “Oh- oh my god,” Kat breathed. She took a step back, wobbling slightly. “I’m sorry Stacy.”

“Jesus Christ Kat, what the hell is going on? Are you okay?” Stacy’s eyes stayed locked on Kat as she spoke.

Her bottom lip quivered as she opened her mouth the form her shaky reply. “I’m okay. I just- I don’t know. I freaked. I’m sorry.”

“I think you need to head on home. I’ll close up here.” Kat nodded quickly and took another step away from Stacy, running a hand through her messy hair. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Kat grabbed her stuff from the counter and took in a breath. “I’m fine,” she replied, though her tone counteracted the words that were being spoken. “I’ll be fine.”

Stacy gave her one more glance over before nodding. “If you need anything, please call me. I’ll be here.”

With a heavy heart, Kat hugged Stacy one final time before walking towards the glass doors of her beloved workplace. She knew it was the last time she would ever walk out of that place, and she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sentimentality. This was the hub of her life and no matter what happened there, it would always hold a special place in her heart. 

Kat gave a weak smile. “Thanks for everything,” she mouthed, the words barely making a sound coming from her dry throat. Stacy returned the tiny smile, and without another word, Kat pushed open the door and exited the building. 

As she walked, she found herself begging for the sun to hold out just a little longer. It was slowly extinguishing as the moon took its place. She was about half way home when it became completely dark. A streetlight only produces a limited amount of light, especially when the moon was hidden behind thick, cloaking clouds. 

Her heart began to beat faster, and the paranoia was getting to her minute by minute. She found herself picking up the pace with every passing moment. It was getting tougher by the minute to keep her erratic breathing from getting out of control. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop herself from panicking. Everything was getting to her, especially the sounds that were whispering around her on the darkened street.

She heard every little noise that echoed between the buildings. The dripping of the rain drops that were beginning to fall. The horn of a faraway car. The thudding of her shoes against the sidewalk under her feet.

But suddenly, she became aware of a sound behind her. Her gut twisted with anxiety as soon as she realized what it was.

It was the familiar sound of boots tapping against the sidewalk right behind her.


	9. Chapter 9

Her heart hitched in her throat as she became aware of the presence behind her. Maybe it was just a random person, trying to get home just like she was. As much as she hoped this was the case, she couldn’t quite convince herself. 

Abruptly, a deep, husky laugh broke the silence. And at that moment, she knew. She knew exactly who it was stalking her. Any moment of uncertainty she had felt before then had ultimately vanished as that laugh crept around her and sunk its claws into her mind. Dark brown curls and green eyes invaded every crevice. 

“Where are you going?” the entity crooned. Another pang of anxiety washed over her. Kat sped up slightly and pulled her phone from her pocket, trying to dial for help. Before she knew it, Harry was right beside her, grabbing her phone, and hurling it against the ground. “Good try,” he laughed in her ear. 

She stopped walking and stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he had her under some sort of hypnotic spell. She was frozen in fear, but all she could think about was how in the world this beautiful boy grew into such a terror. 

He could have had a life. Maybe in modeling. Perhaps something artsy, like photography, or even writing. Married a beautiful woman and had ten kids. But there he was on an empty, cold sidewalk, about to stain his hands a bit more with innocent blood.

“You’re not running?” A small smile appeared on his lips. Kat still just stood there, unable to will her legs to move. Her mind was screaming at her body to just run as fast as it could, although it was obvious she couldn’t outrun the long legged young man. But the only thing that moved even the slightest was her shivering hands. 

He leaned in close to her, his green eyes locking with her blue ones. “Run,” he hissed, any bit of humor instantly erased from his features. It was as if that word was her release word, ordering her legs to resume function and take her away from the danger. She sprinted away from him just as his laugh surrounded her again.

She searched for anything, screamed for anyone. But it was as if he had already killed everyone that had any reason to be on that street at that time. It was barer than she had ever seen it before. Usually, there was a person walking their dog or taking out the trash. But now, there was no one. Her apartment building finally came into view, and she almost thought she was going to make it. However, the sidewalk seemed to stretch; the apartment building looked like it was getting farther and farther away the closer she got to it. 

“Gotta run faster than that!” a voice bellowed from behind her. His signature laugh rolled through the fog as he watched her scramble for safety. She realized that this was a game to him. A game that she would never beat him at. He was a master at his own hunt and no one was going to take away his title of champion. 

It was getting harder and harder for her legs to propel her forward. She began to slow down considerably and her attacker was closing in. She felt a strong hand wrap around her arm and she was swiftly being pulled into the alley behind her building. As much as she fought against him, it did her no good. His grip on her arm was one of iron and there was no way she was escaping him.

Kat used her other hand to beat against him as hard as she could but it hardly fazed him. He essentially seemed amused by her attempt to fight him. She could thrash all she wanted to. It was not making a difference.

He pushed the petrified girl up against the wall of the building, smirking as he closed the gap between them. “God, you’re even sexier when you’re begging for your life,” he growled, biting his bottom lip. “It’s a shame I’ve got to do this.”

“Please don’t hurt me!” she cried as her eyes filled with tears. “Please.” 

For a moment, he was silent. The thought crossed her mind that maybe he was honestly considering letting her go. “Keep doing that,” he finally whispered. 

“Doing what?”

“Begging for your pitiful life.” 

Her heart sunk into her gut. She squirmed against the wall, searching for any attempt to get away from him. Harry slowly reached into a pocket inside his trench coat and pulled out a long, sharp knife.

Her body quickly went into panic mode, turning numb. Her chance of escaping was getting slimmer by the moment, and she knew this. Obviously, she was no match to his strength, but using brawn alone was not the only way to fight a situation.

“Harry please don’t do this. I’m begging you.” She formed her words carefully, speaking slow and as easy as she could. He watched her as if savoring every plea that was streaming from her lips. Kat decided to try a different approach when he didn’t make any offer to release her. “You’re better than this. You don’t have to do this. If you let me go-”

“Let me guess,” he cut in. “If I let you go, you won’t go to the police. I’m a better person than this. You have a life. A family that needs you. You haven’t seen the world yet. You haven’t lived your dreams. Trust me, love. I’ve heard every reason in the book not to do what I do best.” He leaned in right beside her ear, his lips ghosting over her jaw, and whispered, “Spoiler. None of them work.” Her body trembled against him uncontrollably as her hope started to slip away.

“Nothing’s going to stop you, is it?” she exhaled. He shook his head, pulling away from her face. She sighed softly and closed her eyes. “Then do it quickly.”

The train slowed on the tracks as it pulled into the station. Kat closed her diary and stood up from her seat, grabbing her light overhead bag. She made her way through the crowd of people and exited the train to wait for the next one that would take her to her destination. Rain slowly began turning to snow outside the train station and all Kat could think about was how fitting it was that this ordeal was going to end the same way it began.

She found a seat on a bench and waited the few minutes for the train to arrive. The engine roared louder, rumbling the girl’s eardrums uncomfortably. She didn’t flinch, though, not one bit. 

Nothing could surprise her anymore.

The people frenzied towards the cars, rushing on as if it was going to take off at any moment. Kat took her time gathering up her stuff, and made her way onto the car, searching for an empty seat, which she spotted towards the back. She sidestepped through the aisle and placed her bag above her before sitting down.

Once she was settled, the journal was opened back up, and she began writing once more.

_I gave up so quickly. I know it seems pitiful, and honestly, it really is. I also wasn’t in the best mindset at the time. I thought about fighting him, going out like a hero, when in reality, I had no reason to. No family that really cared. Only one friend in that city. So what exactly did I have to live for? To fight for?_

_Nothing._

She felt him stiffen against her. “What...?”

“Just... do it quick. That’s all I ask. I don’t want to suffer.” Kat had accepted the fact that there was no getting away from him. She was no match for the towering stranger. All she knew was that she didn’t want to have to feel what he did to his victims. 

She opened her eyes, expecting to see the razor-sharp blade swinging at her, but instead, there stood a confused looking Harry. “Keep begging,” he ordered. She shook her head.

“I can’t fight my way from you,” she responded. “There’s no use.”

“But... just do it.”

“Harry. Please. Just... do what you have to do.” Their eyes locked and he shook his head, dropping his gaze. 

“It’s no fucking fun if you don’t fight for it.”

She glared at him, gritting her teeth. “I’m not your _toy_.” He smirked a little. 

“Babe, tonight you are.” He pulled the knife up once again, the conniving smirk still plastered along his lips. The cold blade skimmed against the skin at the base of her neck and she reeled back involuntarily as a small gasp escaped her throat. Harry chuckled deeply, thoroughly enjoying the sight in front of him. 

Kat pressed herself as close to the wall as she could. She tried to distance herself as much as possible, her head pressed sideways against the brick and her body as flat as she could make it. Her breathing was quick and shallow and the breaths came out as small whimpers, making her sound even more pitiful than she looked. “God, now that’s a sight I could get used to. I knew you could bring a little more to the table than what you were.” He put pressure against the knife and she cried out softly as it nicked into her skin, blood starting to trickle down her chest. “Gonna take my time with you. Too pretty of skin to completely ruin.”

Harry leaned in towards her ear just as she began to feel faint. “If I hadn’t spent this much time planning this, I might have been able to picture myself with you. Oh well though.”

Kat’s opened her eyes just enough to catch his, and whispered, “I... could never... be with a monster like you.” The knife was unexpectedly pulled from her throat as the look in his eyes became dead. He opened his mouth to say something, but a noise from the road stole his attention. He jerked his head up and glared towards the road as his hearing narrowed in on the sounds of sirens that were moving down the street. 

“Of fucking course,” he hissed, hiding the knife back in his heavy coat. “Come on love, we’re going on a little field trip.” Harry fluffed the collar of her coat, hiding the small wound on her neck. “Listen. You keep your mouth shut. Don’t look at anyone. Don’t speak. No funny business, or else I’ll make sure to spend a bit more time slicing up that beautiful skin of yours.” 

He gripped her arm and yanked her towards the road. His arm snaked around her waist, and suddenly, his whole demeanor changed. He was now a happy passerby on the road with a small, but alluring smile lingering on his lips. It was almost undetectable, but it was just enough for people to believe he was a perfectly sane human being, just like them.

It occurred to Kat that he had spent his whole life learning how to be normal. He practiced looking like everyone else. That was the only way someone could be that twisted and evil, but blend in so perfectly. To everyone else on that sidewalk, they looked like a happy couple, trying to make their way out of the cold weather, but in reality, they were so far from the truth.

After walking for what seemed like hours, they entered a dodgy, run down building. He pulled her inside and up two flights of rickety stairs, and finally, into one of the rooms on the second floor. As soon as they were inside the one room apartment, he pushed her towards the bed and locked the door behind him. “Luckily,” he sighed, the smile growing a bit wider, “no one lives in this building except for me. So you can scream until your lungs give out if you please.” 

Kat looked around the room, eyes wide and scared. She was looking for any way to escape. All the windows were boarded shut, and the only exit was the door that Harry was standing in front of. “Oh love, you’re so sweet but there isn’t any way you can get out of here. Do you think I’m that stupid?” His voice was so loving it was unnerving. The tone that he spoke in completely contradicted the words that were flowing from his mouth, and that sickeningly sweet smile didn’t help matters any. 

“Why are you doing this?” she finally asked, her voice trembling in her throat. 

He laughed again as he slipped out of his big coat and hung it on the back of the door. He slipped the large knife from the pocket and started to walk towards her, menacingly slow. His fingers ran over the slightly bloodied edge of the knife as he spoke. “Hmm... maybe because it’s fun?”

“How can this be fun?!” she cried, standing up in front of him.

Harry looked up from the blade and he muttered, “You have no idea what this does to me.” His eyes darkened lustfully. “Seeing you like this... scared of me... knowing I have your pitiful, meaningless life in my hands... Fuck. It’s so hot.” He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying to calm down just a tad. “And you’re not bad on the eyes either, so that helps a ton.”

“Fuck you,” she spat. 

“Good little girl,” he sighed. He closed his eyes for just a moment and tilted his head back, replaying her remark over and over in his mind. “Keep fighting me.” He finally stepped right in front of her and stared down at her. His smile turned more into a snarl, his lips twitching with anticipation and his eyes wickedly dark. “Try to run,” he growled. 

Kat stood her ground and glared up at him. “I’m not giving you that satisfaction. Get it over with.”

He looked at her closely for just a moment, his eyes scanning over her face. Suddenly, he pushed her backwards causing her legs to hit the bed frame. She fell against the mattress with a surprised “oomph,” but before she could right herself, Harry was positioned over her, straddling her waist. “What about now?” he hissed. He pressed himself against her, eliciting a small whimper from her lips. He laid the knife on the bedside table and turned all of his attention towards the small girl underneath him. Slowly, he reached to her face and pushed her hair away. “Such a waste...” he muttered as he leaned in against her neck. “So pretty... so helpless. So exposed. Nowhere to hide... You poor, pitiful creature.”

Kat pressed the side of her face against the mattress just like she had against the wall. He took in a deep breath right in the crook of her collarbone and slowly made his way back to right in front of her face. “Look at me,” he said softly. She kept her eyes clenched shut, ignoring his request. “Fucking look at me!” he yelled. Anger shook through his entire body. She opened her eyes just a little and turned her head towards him, face to face with a seething, shaking monster. 

“Good girl,” he whispered, his mood going back to slightly pleasant once more. 

“Somebody’s going to find me,” she responded shakily. Their faces were inches from one another, and as Kat stared into the eyes of the guy who had ripped her livelihood to shreds, she didn’t feel like the brave girl who was taking a stand for her life. She didn’t feel like the girl who had her life under control and was making her own decisions. She felt like a scared little girl, finally facing the monster that was hiding in her closet. “Somebody’s going to realize I’m missing, and they’ll find me.”

Harry huffed out a laugh, his breath washing over her face. When he spoke, his voice was low and chilling, his words dripping with the dark tone. “Nobody,” he growled, “is going to be looking for you. Your family doesn’t give one shit about you, and you told your little coworker you were leaving. You and I both know that, don’t we?”

Kat’s stomach sank. He knew. He knew things about her that he shouldn’t, but how?  
She stared at him for a few moments, her jaw hanging slack in shock as her chest heaved up and down. “Bu-”

“But, but, but,” he mocked. “Just shut up.” Slowly, he pushed off of her body and stared down at her. “You know.. I think I’m going to save you. Spend all day tomorrow just finishing this up.” He smirked gently as Kat gazed up at him in shock. 

“You can’t do that!” she finally cried, trying to push herself from the bed. His hand slammed against her shoulder and forced her back down. 

He chuckled, “Ohhh no you don’t. Need you in pristine condition for tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

“Like hell I’m going to sleep here!”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged and moved over to the front door, checking the locks. “You can just lay there for all I care.”

After grabbing the knife from the table, Harry trudged over to the ragged couch in the center of the small room and flopped down onto it. Kat quickly scanned the room again, looking for any sort of escape that she had missed on her first inspection. The windows were boarded from the outside, making that exit completely impossible. The door was a viable option; however, she knew as soon as she bolted for the door, he would be right behind her, and would probably destroy every chance she had of getting out alive.

That’s when a new plan hit her.

She decided to wait it out. He had to sleep sometime, didn’t he? And that would be when she made her move.

What she didn’t know was that Harry was the king of the waiting game. It was his game. He spent years perfecting the process and like hell if some girl was going to take over and make it her own sport.

That night, nobody slept.


	10. Chapter 10

As the light began to trickle into the shadowed apartment with the rising sun, it was very obvious that Kat was going to have to come up with another plan. Neither one of them had moved an inch during the night. Harry sat stone still on the ratty couch, staring straight at her for hours, challenging her to make a run for it. Of course, she didn’t dare. 

As soon as the whole apartment was lit with what few rays of sunlight could creep in, Harry pushed himself off of the piece of furniture with a satisfied sigh. “Fun, wasn’t it princess? Watching me all night like you did,” he sneered, walking into the kitchen. He was still in view from the bed, the whole apartment being an open air, single room flat. He pulled a container of orange juice from the fridge before taking a glass out of a near cabinet, which he then filled with the liquid. As he walked back into the main space of the apartment, he took a sip from the glass. 

She turned her head in disgust as he stared at her. “Aw, come on.” Harry walked around to the side of the bed, a half smile pulling at his lip in amusement. “Tell me I’m not that bad of company.”

Her bottom lip trembled when she opened her mouth to speak. “Are you going to let me go or are you going to kill me?” she finally asked, refusing to look at the boy.

He gave her a non-committal shrug. “Maybe I’ll just keep you here. No one’s going to miss you, and it sure gets lonely here by myself.”

“You can’t do that!” she cried.

Harry huffed out a laugh as he lifted the glass back to his lips. “You watch.”

The anger built inside of her as she turned to finally face the monster who was doing this to her. He was turning to walk back towards the couch, the remainder of his chuckle shaking his shoulders. She took one long, heavy breath as her hands balled into fists beside her on the mattress. “You can’t just do this,” she growled, her voice lower than the time before. As soon as she spoke, Harry turned on his heel and cocked his head to the side.

“You’re getting a bit brave there, aren’t you sweetheart?” he replied. Then, his voice turned threatening, the words threaded with menace. “You should probably be careful of how you speak to me. Mind you, I’m the one who could have ended your meaningless life with a flick of my wrist.”

Kat continued, ignoring his warning, “But it’s going to happen at some point and time.” Her voice quaked at almost every word, and she attempted to swallow her fear down.

Harry’s eyes locked with hers, causing every hair on her body to stand on end. He was a hunter, and his eyes were narrowing in on his prey. He could have jumped at any moment, but he wanted to draw it out, just like he had the chase before. That was what he enjoyed about it. The pure thrill of the pursuit. “Who are you to say what’s going to happen and what’s not? Maybe I thoroughly enjoy having your company around.” His voice was mocking as smiled smugly. The glass was at his lips again and he soon swallowed down the final bit of the juice.

And that’s when it hit her.

Kat’s body jerked a little as the train slowed at the next station, pulling her from her story. She had went over every single detail in her head at least a hundred different times, but still, none of it seemed real to her. It was like she was writing a fiction novel, and every time she thought about it, she got caught up in the story and forgot that it was actually her own life she was thinking about.

She placed her pen down on the paper and stretched her hand a little, working the muscles. People filed off and on the train cab like little mice, rushing to their next destination like they were supposed to. Everyone was in such a hurry. They refused to focus on anything other than their next plan of action, which really made them perfect targets. Their surroundings were of complete unimportance, and that was the first rule Harry had always taught her. 

He drilled it into her just like the alphabet to a small child, repeating it whenever he got the chance. Focus. Focus. Focus. Focus on weaknesses. Focus on strengths. Focus on everything. If you don’t focus, you lose sight of the things that are of true importance and thus you run the risk of losing everything you’ve worked so hard to gain.

 _“One slip of focus is all it takes,”_ she thought silently as she dropped her eyes back to the page. She lifted the pen once more and started to scribble.

_My plan was to befriend him. Well, not really befriend him, because how do you befriend someone who just tried to kill you? Basically, I was going to try to get on his good side. I’d keep my mouth shut and go along with it until I found the perfect opportunity to get out._

_To say I was terrified was an understatement. I knew there was a chance that it wouldn’t work and I would have simply been another blood stain on his hands. But I knew there was also a chance that I would make it out alive and be able to see another day._

_That microscopic chance is what forced me to hold on._

Kat stayed put on the bed for what seemed like hours, but each time she glanced up at the clock, no more than fifteen minutes had passed. The ticking of the hands just reminded her of the prison around her, and it was starting to get to her.

But she had to hold strong. She had to wait for that _perfect_ moment to spring her plan into action. All she needed was one moment of misplaced focus on his part, and she was free.

However, there was no telling how long it would be until that happened.

An hour passed. Then two. Thirty minutes later, Kat could feel her stomach starting to protest with hunger, but she ignored it. Another hour, and she was almost ready to ask him for food, but she held on to what small bit of pride she had left. Harry noticed from the corner of his eye as he was going through a few papers on his desk that she was becoming restless, and he laughed.

Kat snapped her eyes up towards him as he stood from the chair, eyeing her. “You alright there, princess?”

She crossed her arms and shrugged. “As alright as I can be, I guess.”

He instantly picked up on her lie. “Hungry?”

“Of course not.”

“Liar.” Harry smirked, but sighed soon after and rolled his eyes. “You look absolutely pathetic. Get up and go find something.” Kat watched him suspiciously for a few moments, searching for any sort of hint that this was a trap. When she didn’t offer to move, Harry took a deep breath and huffed it out in another frustrated sigh, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. “Not gonna kill you right now. I like to savor the moment.”

The words probably shouldn’t have eased Kat’s fears, but she still found herself clambering off the bed to walk to the kitchen. Harry took one step behind her, and she almost instantly regretted it.

She spun around on her heel swiftly, her heart rate quickening slightly. He again held his hands up in front of him and smirked. “Just following you. Like hell I’m going to let you in there on your own. Now move.” After a moment of eyeing him speculatively, Kat turned back around and walked silently into the kitchen. Harry leaned against the doorframe.

Kat felt completely out of her element as she glanced around the small kitchen. Being in someone else’s kitchen always threw people off, but the added stress of having a murderer observing your every move made it infinitely harder for Kat to navigate the space. 

She opened one of the cabinets, only to find herself staring at dishes. Another one revealed a few pots and pans, and finally, on her third try, she found a few bags of chips and crackers. Kat threw a glance back at Harry who was still leaning against the doorway, taking in every movement her body made. He nodded once to tell her it was okay.

“You know,” she murmured, pulling one of the bags from the cabinet, “this doesn’t seem normal.” She wanted to speed up her plan. In past experiences, she always found that a little conversation went a long way. 

“And what do you mean by that?” Harry straightened up and moved farther into the kitchen so he could get a better view of her.

She shrugged a bit, trying not to look suspicious as she crossed the floor to the fridge, searching for a drink. She found a few bottles of water and grabbed one before closing the door back. “I don’t know much about how killers work, but I know for a fact that most of them don’t take their victims back to their apartments. They sure as hell don’t feed them, either.”

This made Harry laugh. It was a deep, lighthearted sound, unlike the intimidating laugh that she had heard so many times before. This wasn’t the laugh that had found its way into her nightmares, eating her away as soon as the sun set. It was a genuine sound, starting deep in his chest and working its way through his throat until finally bubbling from his lips. It was a nice sound, as much as she hated to realize that. “You know, you’re gutsy. I like that,” he finally said, a smile still present on his features.

Kat wanted to yell. She really just wanted to get angry and scream at him and throw an all-out fit, but fear still sat heavy inside of her. She had to remind herself that this wasn’t just _some guy_ that she was dealing with. This was someone who had murdered many, many women, and she could most definitely be the next one of she wasn’t careful.

So instead, she stuck with her plan. Kat forced the best smile that she could, when she could have very well hunched over and threw up all over the floor. “So I’ve been told,” she managed to mutter through her teeth. She bit the inside of her lip as she grabbed her rations and moved past him back towards the bed. What little time she had from the kitchen to the bed was used to scope out the area, just in case. As if she hadn’t done that enough during the night.

She sat back down on the mattress and curled her legs underneath her. “Good enough for you?” Harry asked as he flipped the kitchen light off and moved back over to his desk. He didn’t even wait for an answer before turning his back to her, going through some papers that were placed in a small folder.

However, when she didn’t answer, he glanced backwards over his left shoulder and stared at her. “What?” she asked after swallowing a sip of water.

“I asked you a question.”

Kat sat there for just a moment before she was actually able to think about what he had asked. “Oh- yeah. Sorry.” She dropped her gaze towards the bag of chips that sat in front of her.

“Good girl.”

Silence settled in the room once more, the only sounds coming from the occasional crunch of a chip or a paper being flipped over. Eventually, Kat found herself finishing off the bottle of water, and she stood to throw it away. In an instant, Harry had jumped up from his seat and stared at her, his whole body on edge. He was ready to lunge.

“I- I was just-” she stammered, unable to form her words. Instead, she held the empty bottle up as her answer.

He stood completely poised for a second longer before relaxing. “You tell me next time, do you hear me?” She nodded. “Go ahead, then,” he murmured, tilting his head towards the kitchen. The trash can sat at the end of the counter, in clear view from his spot. 

After padding carefully to the container, she tossed the garbage inside and sat the bag of chips on the counter. When she turned back around, Harry was still standing in the same position, watching her carefully. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Harry’s shoulders dropped just barely as he watched her move back towards the bed and sit down. When he spoke, he seemed surprised. “For what?”

“For not warning you I was moving.” She didn’t glance up at him, but it was almost as if she could feel his confusion.

“Oh,” he started, dumbfounded. “Well, that’s okay, I guess. Just... remember to tell me next time.” She nodded quickly. Harry stood there for a few more moments before he shuffled towards a small doorway at the edge of the room, a bit hesitantly. “I have to use the restroom. Promise me you aren’t going to run as soon as I walk out of this room.” A hint of humor flickered in his eyes.

She shook her head only a little bit, and after she did, he skulked away through the doorway. 

This was it, she realized.

As soon as the door shut, she sprang from the bed and rushed to the main door way, fumbling with the lock and chain. “Come on, come on,” she whispered to herself, her breathing turning into heavy gasps. Her heart was pounding loudly inside her chest as her fingers trembled against the chain. Finally, she unlocked the restraint and went to turn the deadbolt.

A flash of metal appeared in front of her face and was quickly pressed against her throat again, this time hard enough that she let out a gargled choke. Harry’s lips pressed against the curve of her ear and he whispered, “You promised you weren’t going to run from me, darling. I trusted you.” The depth of his voice sent shivers erupting down her spine. He reached around her and locked the door back. His hand then gripped her shoulder and spun her around so she was facing him, their faces just inches away from one another. 

Kat gritted her teeth together and glared at him. Anger and courage unexpectedly surged through her body. She steadied herself against the door and lifted her leg up quickly, her knee hitting him perfectly in between the legs, causing him crumble to the floor. She then spun around and jerked the chain away from the lock to open the door. Before she could twist the knob, Harry reached up and clutched her hand. He forcefully pulled her backwards causing her to lose her balance and fall straight on top of him, her back against his broad chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly as they struggled on the cold, hardwood floor. “Let me go!” she screamed, kicking her legs as hard as she could.

She looked down at his arms and suddenly bent down, sinking her teeth into the soft flesh. “What the fuck?!” he shouted. It angered him, but it done the trick. He released his arms from around her and she scrambled on all fours to the door. She no more than grabbed the knob when she felt his hand wrap around her ankle and pull her backwards. 

Tears were flowing from her eyes in a fit of anger and fear. “Please no!” she cried out, her body shaking with sobs. He flipped her over onto her back and straddled her again, the knife placed perfectly against her neck. “God please, just let me go! I swear I won’t tell anyone! Please!” Her eyes stared up at him, frenzied and begging. In an attempt to keep him away, she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed as hard as she could.

“You asked for this!” he screamed at her. “I warned you!” Her cries continued, begging him to let her go and not hurt her as he glared down at her. The anger inside of him was beginning to boil over and he knew that he had to do this quick. “I’m going to fucking enjoy this.” Her hands began beating against his chest as her tears slid down the sides of her face. The knife pushed against her skin, hard enough to inflict pain but just slightly not enough to draw blood.

He pushed just a little harder, that smirk on his lips growing to a full blown smile. This was it. He was going to end it right there.

Kat looked up from her diary and took in a deep breath, wiping away a stray tear. Even if it was in the past, it still shocked her to the bone. She took one more breath and brought her attention back to the paper.

_You know how they say when you’re on the verge of dying, your life flashes before your eyes? Well I don’t know how it is for everyone else, but nothing like that happened to me. It was like... I don’t know. Tunnel vision maybe? All I could see was his face, his eyes to be specific. They were so bright and vivid. His eyes are still the greenest eyes I have ever seen in my whole life. Maybe that’s why I didn’t see my life in that moment. Maybe his eyes were the most important thing I had ever seen. Maybe I would have rather went out seeing something beautiful than years of pain._

Suddenly, a cell phone began ringing loudly through the apartment. The smile on his face died away and was replaced by an angry scowl. “You keep getting fucking lucky,” he fumed, hauling himself off of her. He jerked her up by the arm and pushed her on the bed before standing in front of the bedside table. He pulled open the drawer, revealing numerous cell phones scattered about. He picked up the one that was ringing and snapped, “What?” 

Kat curled up on the bed, hugging her legs to her chest. Her sobs racked through her body, pulling and shaking every organ inside of her. She tried to slow her breathing as she listened to the one sided conversation Harry was having. “I’m in the middle of it. You know, you’ve been constantly bugging me about this grab since I picked it, and then you call me right in the middle of it. Real fucking smooth... No, I haven’t finished it... What the fuck kind of question is that? You know I’m not that messed up.” Kat scoffed slightly, earning a scowl from Harry. “No you can’t have her when I’m done... I’m hanging up now... Bye.” He took the phone from his ear and touched the screen to end the call. His attention was back to Kat after he put the phone back in the drawer. “You got lucky this time,” he warned, pointing at her. “You’ll learn not to piss me off.”

“What did you expect?!” she screamed, her whole body shaking.

Suddenly, he was down at her level, his face right in front of hers. “I expect you to be a good little girl and fucking do what I tell you do! You’ll find out its easiest when you do!”

She had to resist the urge to spit in his face. She would surely be dead before she had time to blink after that. 

She stayed silent as she stared towards the wall. Her body had given all it could and she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Every now and then, a small hiccup would shake her body, but that was the only movement she made other than the uncontrollable trembles that were inevitable. Harry stared down at her, watching her poor body shiver. “You’re so damn pathetic,” he sighed, walking towards a small linen closet close to the kitchen. He pulled out a thick blanket and tossed it at her crudely. Still, she didn’t move an inch. “Oh, no thank you?” 

“Fuck off,” she whispered, her dead eyes still focused on the far wall. 

“I’m trying to be nice.”

“I don’t want your sympathy or whatever the hell you’re trying to give me, so fuck off!” Her body shook with her last sentence, each word getting louder and louder. The last word broke off in a sob. She took the blanket and slowly pulled it over her shivering figure, trying to calm the tremors.

He let out a small laugh. “That’s what I thought.” Harry flopped down on the broken down couch across from the bed and turned on the television.

“Why are you keeping me here?” Her voice cracked in her throat as she winced in pain. All the crying and screaming she had done made the inside of her throat raw, and it hurt to even swallow.

He shrugged just a tad, his eyes never leaving the television screen. “Just don’t want to end the fun just yet.”

For hours, Kat laid there watching Harry. He appeared so normal sitting there, his legs crossed and his arms resting on the back cushions of the couch. Every now and again, he would chuckle quietly at whatever program he was watching. Sometimes, he would bring his hand up to his face and touch his fingers gently against his plush bottom lip, rubbing it back and forth mindlessly. He looked like the typical boy that the typical teenage girl would fall head over heels for. Kat could have seen herself actually finding him attractive, if it wasn’t for the simple fact that his personality completely defied how he looked.

There were moments where he would let his guard down just barely, staring off into space, the look in his eyes becoming dead and dark. Something was constantly haunting him. A memory, maybe. Visions of some past experience that brought him to where he was now. The psychological side of Kat wanted to know every little detail of whatever disturbing incident it was, but the sane side of her told her to stay put on that bed and not to upset him.

After a while, the light on the television dimmed and Harry stood up from the couch. Without the sound of the electronic, the pouring rain outside pattered against the glass of the boarded up windows and filled the room with a lonely sound. “You need to sleep,” he muttered. His mind was elsewhere at the moment.

“How the hell do you expect me to sleep?” Kat’s voice sounded even worse now. She cleared her throat to attempt to ease the pain, but it only caused more discomfort. 

Harry padded into the kitchen and took a glass from the cabinet. She could hear the sink turn on and off, and before she could think about it, he brought her the glass full of water. “Here.”

She rolled over on the bed to ignore him. “I’m not taking anything from you.”

The bed depressed behind her as Harry sat down. “I’m not killing you tonight,” he murmured. Kat laid there for a moment, silent and still.

“Why not?” she finally asked.

“Just don’t want to.”

“You just want to torture me. You’re worse than what I thought.” Harry tensed a little and took a breath.

“I’m showing you a bit of mercy here. The least you can do is thank me.” 

Kat sat up quickly. She stared at him, her jaw hanging slack in disbelief. “Thank you?” she laughed. “I should _thank you_?! You almost kill me two different times, you’re holding me hostage, and you expect me to THANK YOU?!”

Harry clenched his teeth together as he tried not to explode. “If I had a choice,” he started, his voice low and gravelly, “you would be laying in that alley way covered in blood.”

“But you DO have the choice! You just want to make this as bad as you can on me!”

“You wanna know what I would do if I was trying to make this bad on you?!” She sat there and stared at him, waiting for him to continue. His eyes were completely dark with hardly any of the emerald iris showing beyond the pupils. He grabbed her arm and held it in his tight grip. “Before I done anything major,” he started, nimbly touching each of her fingers, “I would have marked up this pretty little body of yours. Stripped you down. Took my time. I would have made it mine.” Kat’s breath hitched in her throat as she tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her wrist was just too strong. He ran his long finger along her collarbone and whispered, “A cut here, because this is just my favorite.” His finger trailed down to her stomach. “One here,” he said softly, running it from one side to another. “And these pretty little legs... Don’t even let me start.” His eyes flickered to her face, searching for fear. It wasn’t hard to find, either. She was frozen with terror. 

Her body wanted to reel away in disgust at every touch, but she just wasn’t able. Her muscles refused to work in her favor and force her to retreat from the danger.

The light from the streetlights crept through the cracks in the boards and casted an eerie shadow onto his face, emphasizing his sharp features. He smirked softly and continued. “Then I would have chopped you up. I don’t normally do that, but I’d make a special exception for you. It’d be easy. Start with these tiny fingers and work my way up, knuckle to knuckle, moving on to the forearm and elbow. By then I mean you’d pretty much either be dead or just passed out from the pain and lack of blood, but that doesn’t mean the fun would have to stop. I’d make sure to leave that face for last. I’d sit down with just your head and mark it up, making sure you _never_ can look at someone with those eyes again. That’s what you’d be known for. Elizabeth Short was known for her beauty and that forced smile. Jack’s victims were known for their pasts of being prostitutes. And you,” he mused, his smile growing wider, “you will be known for those God-forsaken blue eyes.”

He finally released her arm but his eyes stayed glued to her. “Just remember it could be a whole hell of a lot worse.” He stood from the bed and said, “I’ll be on the couch if you need something. I expect you to sleep.” As he made his way back to the couch, he pulled his shirt over his head. His whole body was covered with random tattoo doodles. The ones that were most striking were the ones on his chest. Two birds covered his collarbones and a large butterfly was splayed out below his sternum. Kat stared at him as he sat back down on the couch, and he noticed her gaze. “Like what you see?” he asked with a smirk. 

Kat snapped her eyes away from his figure and back towards the wall opposite her. “I was just looking at your tattoos,” she mumbled.

“Whatever you say. Now close your eyes.” Kat let out a small sigh and fought her fatigue as long as she could, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of giving her an order she actually listened to. Slowly though, as much as she hated it, it became too much for her to fight and she slipped into one of the most uncomfortable night’s sleep that she had ever experienced.


	11. Chapter 11

Blaring sunlight washed over Kat’s body the next morning, swathing her in a warm, relaxing blanket. She felt at peace as she opened her eyes for some odd reason. But then, as she took in her surroundings, she became confused. 

She was in her room. She was lying in her own bed, swaddled in her own blankets, with her head nuzzled into her own pillows.

For a moment, Kat just laid there, trying to figure it all out. When she went to sleep the night before, she had been in Harry’s apartment, sore and sick from anxiety. But now, she didn’t feel any pain. She felt completely relaxed as she stared around her sanctuary. Her body didn’t ache one bit, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was all a dream.

Slowly, she pushed herself forward in the bed, shifting her lower half underneath her. The longer Kat sat in the bed, the more confused she became. What _had_ happened the past few days?

However, she didn’t have time to think much longer about what was happening. Her head jerked up as a crash resounded from what sounded like the kitchen. Her legs stilled under the sheets as she waited for any other noise that would clarify what exactly the crash was. “Dammit,” a male voice muttered, followed by a shuffling of feet.

Any normal person would be wary when they hear a voice coming from their kitchen, but a sense of calm fell over her.

She knew the voice.

Without any bit of questioning, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and jogged barefoot to the door, promptly hauling it open. In an instant, she was standing in the kitchen doorway. And there he was.

His back was facing her as he stood in front of the stove, but she knew it was him. The dark wisps of hair that swept untidily against the collar of his shirt and the tall, lanky build gave him away. “Mark?” Kat whispered. She tried to force herself to speak as loud as she possibly could, but the word was barely audible.

Mark cracked an egg against the pan that sat on the stovetop in front of him, and he let out a laugh. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up, baby sister.” As he spoke, he turned around and grabbed a small towel from the counter, wiping off his hands. When his dark eyes found her contrastingly bright ones, she didn’t feel like such a failure. The three years she spent searching for him had not gone to waste.

“Why-How,” she sputtered, trying to fit the pieces together. 

He simply laughed again, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever so slightly. The lop-sided smile didn’t disappear from his features when his laughter stopped. “Always so curious,” he mused, leaning back against the counter behind him. Mark glanced down at the eggs before continuing. “Gonna get you in trouble one of these days, sis. But I think you know that better than I do.”

Kat shook her head a little as she walked a bit farther into the kitchen, her bare feet padding quietly against the cold tile. “What do you mean?”

Turning to grab the spatula, Mark sighed, “You should have run when you had the chance.”

She stopped moving towards him for just a second. “Mark, what are you talking about?”

“If you learned anything from what we went through, it should have been to see the signs and get out while you could.” He shuffled the utensil under the egg before bringing it over quickly to a waiting plate and sliding it onto the surface. “But your curiosity always gets the best of you, doesn’t it?”

After sliding a second egg onto the plate beside the first, Mark turned around to face Kat once more. He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation. “Are you talking about Harry?” she asked, her voice a little lower than before. Mark didn’t say a word, but the expression on his face spoke for him. “How do you know about that?”

“Big brothers know all. You know that.” 

Kat huffed out a sigh and followed suit, crossing her arms and staring at him as well. “Why am I here, Mark? And, why are you here, most of all.”

He simply smiled that oh-so famous smile and turned to the plates behind him. “So, princess, you like eggs?”

Kat’s body relaxed the tiniest bit. “Well, of cou- Wait,” she paused, her face contorting with confusion, “what did you call me?”

When Marked turned around again, a laugh bubbled from his throat and Kat took a step back. He wasn’t Mark anymore. He wasn’t her older brother, and they weren’t in her kitchen. They were back in that hellhole, and Mark’s face had shifted into the green-eyed entity that had stolen her entire existence from her.

Kat sat up quickly in the sweat soaked sheets, reaching her hands up to mesh with the hair on the sides of her head. As much as she hoped that she was still in her own bed, her surroundings proved otherwise. 

A small sob broke from her chest as her hands tangled deeper into her hair. She was starting to panic. Her breathing became erratic and her heart began to race. She felt her face start to heat up with blood as it pulsed through her, faster and faster by the moment. Her chest pulled in deep breaths, and she gulped at the air around her, trying to get in as much as she could. However, each breath became harder and harder to control. She needed more to feel satisfied; her measly breaths just were not doing the job.

Her lungs ached and burned in her chest, and she was sure she was about to pass out. It wasn’t the first time she had felt the numb, fuzzy feeling work its way from her fingertips to the core of her body. She had always been very faint at the sight of blood, and panic attacks worked just the same way for her.

“Hey, did you hear me?” Harry asked, walking out from the kitchen. When his eyes fell on her, he paused for only a moment before moving quickly to the bedside. “Kat, are you okay?”

She gripped the sheets in both of her hands, twisting and turning them frantically as she struggled to breathe. Her eyes trailed over towards his face as he leaned down in front of her, speaking again. His words became muddled in her confusion, like a sinking ship lost in the waves of an oncoming storm, being pushed and pulled into the darkness.

Everything became fuzzy around the edges then. Harry’s face turned into a slightly blurred version of itself, soft and diffused. Even his eyes turned into a deep, forest green instead of the sickeningly bright shade they were usually.

Harry’s hands gripped the girl’s shoulders and he gave them a slight shake. She barely felt the tight hold he had on her body. It was all numb. He shook them one more time, a bit harder, yelling something that she barely heard. It was all drowning in the static sound that was swallowing her whole body, consuming her and taking over each one of her senses.

With one more shake of her shoulders, Harry was able to pull her slightly from the dark abyss she was slipping into. “-re you okay?!” his deep voice pried, pulling her even farther into reality.

Finally, she drew in a deep breath and clenched her eyes closed, the tingling sensation starting to vanish. It left in the opposite way it came in, crawling away from the center of her chest and exiting from the tips of her fingers.

Harry’s eyes were boring into her own, searching for any signs that she was back with him in the real world. “Kat?” he asked warily, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, come on.” Kat blinked a few times and he smirked. “There you are, princess. What the hell was that about?”

“I-I just,” she stammered, releasing the death grip she held on the tangled sheets underneath her body. “Bad dream.”

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed off the mattress. “You didn’t answer me. Do you like eggs?”

Kat nodded weakly, sighing out a quiet “mhmm” as he moved away from the bed and back into the kitchen. After just a second, he crossed the floor again with a plate and a glass of orange juice in his hands. The plate held a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for her to eat.

“Eat up,” he murmured, placing the glass on the bedside table after handing the plate to her. He then retrieved his own breakfast from the kitchen and plopped down on the couch.

Kat stared down at the food on her plate. It looked appetizing enough, but could she trust to eat it? Her protesting stomach told her to go ahead; there wasn’t anything to worry about at all. However, the reasonable part of her mind was telling her that there could have been anything in it. When she looked back up towards Harry, he was sneering in her direction. “Not good enough for you?”

“How do I know you didn’t do something to it?” Harry’s eyebrows raised, and the corners of his lips pulled up slightly. He was amused.

“You must give me a lot of credit,” he chuckled, shaking his head. He brought a forkful of egg to his lips and took it into his mouth. After swallowing, he wiped his lips with a napkin. “I’m quite flattered.”

After staring at him speculatively for a few moments, Kat picked up the fork and scraped the food around the plate. Nothing she saw pointed her to the conclusion that there was anything wrong with the food. And frankly, she was too hungry to think about it anymore.

She scooped up some of the egg and took a bite, pushing the food around in her mouth for a few moments, trying to taste anything odd about it. It might have been the hunger taking over her thought process, but the food tasted absolutely fine.

Soon, the plate was completely void of food, and Kat was swallowing down the last bit of juice that resided in the cup. She let out a breath after removing the cup from her lips, drawing attention from Harry. “Not so bad for poisoned food, was it?” Kat’s gaze quickly snapped up towards him as he laughed and stood up. “Kidding. Learn to take a joke.”

He took the plate from her hands and sat it on top of his before grabbing her empty glass and depositing them into the sink. When he emerged from the kitchen, he walked over to the other side of the room and hauled open a set of double doors, revealing a small laundry area. Kat stayed quiet as she watched him turn the cold water on and take a few clothing items out of a small washbasin. He tossed the wet clothes into the washer, poured in some detergent, and closed the washer before shutting the doors.

As Harry moved from one chore to a next, Kat couldn’t help but keep her eyes locked on him. The way he moved was mesmerizing. He walked with such determination, but somehow kept his body movements so smooth and graceful. Usually, people on a mission walked with rigidity, almost robotically. But Harry moved like a fluid, slipping deftly around the room. If Kat didn’t know better, she would have said he floated. He seemed to barely disturb the air around him. 

Harry was a nimble, agile creature, poised and spry, ready for almost anything. It seemed as though nothing could shock him from his self-assured state, and Kat wasn’t going to be the one that tried to change that. However, she wanted to be the one that found out just how he done it. Her brother was right; her curiosity _always_ got the best of her. It was a flaw in her character that had gotten her into a lot of trouble throughout her life, but never this bad.

The day drug on and on as Kat sat on her perch, closely watching her captor do his dirty work. He had spent a fair amount of time straightening up the apartment. He had washed two loads of clothes— one load was clothes from the attack, and the other was a load of everyday clothes. He washed what few dirty dishes sat in the sink, and then just done some general cleaning of the room.

After he was satisfied with how the apartment looked, he took to his desk, flipping through a few folders of papers. Kat couldn’t help but wonder what the papers were, but she didn’t dare ask. She didn’t make a sound.

Eventually, Harry pulled open a laptop that sat on the desk, and from her spot on the bed, she could see the face of a brown haired girl fill the screen. She couldn’t make out any specific details of the girls face; however, it was obvious that she fit the description that Kat had gathered of one of the groups of victims. But where did the other groups of girls come in? 

“Interested?” Harry murmured, glancing over his shoulder towards the girl. She hadn’t realized that she had been staring him. Kat shook her head quickly and averted her gaze towards the bed beneath her. He laughed softly, his shoulders shaking with the sound. “Her name’s Lauren and she has amazing hands.”

“I don’t want to hear this.”

“I saw her for the first time three days ago. She works at that deli you like to frequent.” Harry pushed away from the desk, a picture of the girl in his hand, and walked towards her. “You know,” he purred, nearing the edge of the bed, “I could thank you for leading me to her.”

Kat inched away from Harry the slightest bit. “Don’t you dare say that.”

“I was looking for you that day. Going around to your regular stops... and that’s when I saw little Miss Lauren.” Harry trailed a finger over the picture in his hand, smiling fondly. “She’ll be mine soon.”

She shook her head hard and let out a small, shaking breath. “You’re sick.”

“I know.”

“And it doesn’t bother you? It doesn’t bother you that this girl has a life? A family?” Kat hissed, jerking her gaze towards the towering figure. An amused expression covered his face, curling his lips away from his teeth and raising his eyebrows. 

He waited for her to continue, but when she didn’t, Harry replied, “Not one little bit, just to be honest.”

Kat huffed out a groan, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I need out,” she whispered, mainly to herself. “I need to go home.”

Harry placed the picture of the girl onto the nightstand and shrugged as he walked away. “Sorry, princess, but it doesn’t work that way.”

“Then how is this going to work?” Her voice dropped slightly. She swallowed hard to steady it before she spoke again. “What are you going to do to me?”

Before he replied, Harry took a few steps, turning on his heel slowly to face her. He lifted his index finger to his bottom lip and dragged it across the pink skin, back and forth, agonizingly slow. It appeared as though he was contemplating his next move, working out the consequences that each action could have in the end. Finally, he spoke, “I’m not quite sure of the long term plan, but for now, as long as you don’t piss me off, I think I’ll let you live.”

“And I’m just supposed to sit here?”

“You’re free to roam the apartment, but that’s it. And no funny business, do you hear me? I could kill you so quickly you wouldn’t realize what was happening.” 

Kat looked up towards Harry, eyeing him for a moment. Was this just a trick? She was scared that as soon as she made any movements, he would lunge at her and do the deed that had hung around like an elephant in the room. He showed no signs of humor or amusement. Honestly, he looked a bit confused.

“I just said you can move. Just... quit staring at me. It’s somewhat weird.”

Kat couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. “Now I guess you know how I felt when you were watching me.” He didn’t find the humor in the thought quite how she did; he didn’t laugh, instead opting for a roll of his eyes.

“Whatever,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Just don’t mess the apartment up.” Harry walked back over to his desk and plopped down into his chair, engulfing himself back into the task at hand.

He was planning another murder, right in front of her. Some poor girl was going to lose her life, yet Kat was still very much alive. Was that even fair? Out of all the girls that he had went through, why was it _her_ that got to survive? Why was she the odd one out?

It wasn’t that she was disappointed by any means. She was thankful to be breathing. But why did he spare her instead of the others? There was so much blood staining his hands, why was hers not part of that?

Before she could lose herself to her thoughts, she slowly edged her way to the side of the bed, hanging her feet off the side. “I’m gonna- you know,” she said, hiking her thumb towards the bathroom door. 

Harry glanced over his shoulder and nodded slightly. “Yeah, go ahead.” After just a slight hint of hesitation, Kat’s feet hit the floor underneath her, and she made her way towards the small bathroom. She knew Harry was staring at her the whole time, but she didn’t bother to look back at him. She needed to make herself feel somewhat human once more.

She pushed the door closed behind her and reached for the lock, which was non-existent. Good idea too, she thought. She could have easily locked herself in the bathroom after grabbing one of Harry’s cell phones and dialing for help. It seems he had thought of everything.

Kat glanced around the tiny room in search for anything she could use to escape. However, there was literally nothing to help her. No window, no weapon. Nothing.

Quickly, she used the amenities and washed her hands afterwards, looking up into the mirror in front of her. The reflection in the mirror showed a worn out girl. Her eyes were sunken in, and her dark hair was a tangled mess. She raked a hand through it the best she could, but it hardly made a difference. There was no helping the damage without a brush and some elbow grease. 

Kat took a step back from the sink, pulled in one long breath, and turned to walk back out to the living room. Harry was still at his computer, barely showing her a bit of attention. She found herself ambling over towards the couch. Her eyes stayed glued to the boy the whole time as she sat down on the piece of furniture carefully. He never batted an eye.

They stayed like that for hours. Kat grew restless after the first hour, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. By the second hour, she couldn’t take it. She took to walking around the apartment, not really having an objective in her mind. Finally, by the third hour, Harry let out an exasperated sigh and dropped his hands on the desk.

“Can you PLEASE sit down?” he groaned, glaring over at her. Kat stopped walking and turned around to face him. “You’re getting really fucking annoying.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” she asked. Her voice raised a pitch higher than normal as she stared at him.

Harry threw his arms up, shaking his head. “I don’t know! Sit down?! Watch television maybe?!” He thought over a few more answers but decided to just sigh again. “Anything besides pacing the damn floor!”

Kat rolled her eyes and sat back down on the bed. “If you wouldn’t treat me like a caged animal, maybe I wouldn’t act like one,” she mumbled, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

His eyes narrowed in on her for just a moment, and she wished she had kept her mouth shut. But instead of making her regret her words, Harry simply smirked once before turning back towards his work.

_We didn’t speak another word that night. I felt like I had already pushed the limit with my snide comments, and he stayed buried in his project. The silence in that apartment became my main enemy. It forced me to think about everything. That was by far the last thing I wanted to do. But the hush in the room demanded to be filled with thoughts and images that I had pushed to the back of my mind._

_The main thought I had was the realization that there was no way out. When it hit me, it nearly crippled me. It wasn’t just a fleeting thought either. I thought about it constantly. It was like the silence brought it rolling back into my mind._

_There was no way out, and now, I just wish I could go back._


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Kat woke up groggily. This time, there was no terrible dream to wake up from. There was no smidgen of hope in the back of her mind that made it possible for her to create that imagination.

And also, there was no Mark, and as awful as the situation was, that hurt her more than anything.

Kat hadn’t seen her brother for four years. She had spent the last three of those years searching for him in a place that he had mentioned in passing. There was no promise he was there. There was barely any evidence. The only thing she had was his word and a simple postcard of Big Ben with the words “Miss you xo” scribbled messily on the back. 

But she had kept her hope then.

She had kept hope for the past four years, and this was the first time she had simply felt nothing but despair. She wasn’t going to find him. She wasn’t ever going to find out what made him leave that facility. She wouldn’t get to have one of his comforting, soul mending bear hugs ever again. That was the one thing she felt could restore the situation. It always seemed to hold her together before.

However, instead of being patched and sewn back together in her brother’s arms, she was waking up in a stranger’s bed, shattering apart moment by moment in the sheets.

Kat finally sat up and looked around the dimly lit room trying to find her captor. His back was facing her but she could see he was holding something, looking down at it. She stood up and stretched her taut muscles before padding quietly over to him. As she got closer, the object in his hand came into view.

It was a picture of a girl with curly brown hair and bright green eyes almost as vivid as his (almost, but not quite). She couldn’t have been more than 18 in the picture. She was grinning ear to ear, obviously happy and full of life. 

Harry must not have heard Kat stand up, because he never once tore his eyes from the beauty in the picture. The way he seemed completely enthralled with the picture made her wonder who the mystery girl could be. Obviously, her first thought automatically went to a victim of his. An innocent girl who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another notch in his belt.

Kat huffed out a laugh, the anger starting to simmer deep in her stomach. “What? Did you kill her too?” she asked, rolling her eyes. She turned to walk towards the restroom, but she suddenly felt hands grab her arm and slam her up against the wall. Harry glared down at her, his lips fixed in a snarl. She knew in an instant that she had screwed up.

Kat let out a small laugh and stared at the paper, her mind racing back to that night. She smiled fondly and continued writing.

_I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. My mom always told me my sarcastic comments were going to get me into trouble one day. I just never thought it would wind up a matter of life and death. Come to think of it though, my mouth did make him mad more than once..._

“What the FUCK did you just say?!” he yelled as he pressed all his weight against her. She couldn’t form her words quick enough. He pulled her away from the wall slightly only to slam her back against it, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped a few times before she was able to breathe normally again. “TELL ME!”

Her body trembled underneath his broad figure as she spoke. “I just asked... if you had killed her too...” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he smashed her into the wall again.

“I’ve fucking had it with you.” He grabbed her by the back of her head, his fingers meshing with her long locks forcefully, and pulled her over towards his bookshelf. Her hands found his at the top of her head as she tried to pry them from the tangled mess. However, he simply tightened his grip, making it impossible for her to yank herself free. Screams blasted from the back of her throat as he dragged her with him. She screamed even though she knew it would do her no good. No one could hear her in the otherwise empty building.

Finally, Harry grabbed his knife from the top of the bookshelf before shoving her towards the bed and crawling on top of her before she could orient herself. Kat thrashed around underneath him, trying to get any bit of an upper hand over him, but his anger overpowered both of their bodies. He clutched the knife in his hands and pressed it against the side of her face. 

“Remember how I told you things could get worse?” He forced the edge of the knife into the soft flesh of her cheek and smirked as she cried out in pain. “You’re going to experience it firsthand,” he hissed. Blood dripped from her cheek and smeared onto the sheets of the bed, staining the pure white fabric with a crimson streak. “You’re making a fucking mess. Stop squirming.”

She lashed out at him, slamming her hands into his chest and arms. Anytime he inched the knife towards her face, she crashed her hand against his, causing the knife to bite into her hands and forearms painfully. After only a few minutes of struggling, they were both completely covered in her blood. It matted in both of their hair, clumping, sticky and wet. The wild look in his eyes intensified with her every scream.

He reached up and pinned both of her hands against the mattress with one of his large hands as his eyes trailed down her body. They stopped right above the waistband of her jeans and he leered, practically drooling. The tip of his knife found its way under the bottom hem of her shirt, sliding underneath to get a better look at her torso. The shirt bunched as he pushed it up, revealing her waist and hips. “These hipbones... are mine...” he whispered, lowering his head towards her belly. His lips ghosted over the bones causing her to jump underneath him.

“Stop!” she screamed. It only seemed to strengthen his actions. Her tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the bitter blood and finding their way into the already painful gashes. “Please,” she begged, staring down at him. His head was still bowed near her waist, learning every crease and protrusion of her prominent hip bones. His eyes locked with hers as his lips found the bone once more. He nipped painfully at the skin there eliciting another yelp from Kat. He chuckled as he sat up, running the blade right above her waistband. 

“These are my other favorite,” he whispered, placing a bit more pressure on the skin below her belly button. She threw her head back and let out a whimper, mostly from fear, but somewhat from the sensation of the cold metal on the sensitive portion of skin. He then scored the soft spot from one hip to the other as she writhed in pain under him and screamed out wildly. His knife trailed up towards her breasts but he stopped just barely below them, her shirt covering most of her chest. “And your body is to die for.” He started to laugh a little bit at his own sick joke. 

“Please stop,” she whimpered. She had said the words so many times that they had begun to lose their meaning. They were just empty phrases that she prayed would finally reach him. This time, however, it had yet to have an effect on him. He cut into her skin, the shallow wound starting from just below her breasts, down towards her belly button. Blood seeped from the laceration and when she glanced down, she began to feel faint. “Oh... Oh God...” Her eyelids started to become heavy as the room blackened in her vision.

“Giving up already?” he crooned. She focused her eyes in on him, trying to stay awake. As she slipped away, she wasn’t quite sure of what she was feeling. All she knew was that she almost felt _bad_ for him, for some strange reason. Was that even possible?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she began to lose her grip on her consciousness. Her body started to feel as if it was floating, each limb being lifted up by an invisible balloon tied to them. Her mind felt just as light, slipping into the darkness that was beginning to surround her. She didn’t know what she was doing. She hardly even knew where she was anymore. All Kat knew was that she was starting to feel peace, and she wasn’t going to fight it. She let it swallow her whole, succumbing to the lighter-than-air sensation and drifting with it. What little strength she had was used to reach up towards his face and touch his cheek softly. 

Harry’s whole body recoiled from the touch violently as if he was burned by hot coals pressed against his skin. He eyed her with disdain as he growled, “What the hell are you doing?”

She shook her head faintly. “I don’t really know... I’m... sorry...”

“Stop it,” he ordered as he dodged her touch once again.

“I’m sorry this life failed you,” she continued. “I’m sorry you had no one to stop this for you... I’m sorry...” Her hand fell back to the mattress as she spoke. Her blinks became heavy and it was a task just to open them back. 

The look in his eyes would have ended it right there if she had been able to focus on it. She would have shut her mouth and let him have his way. But, the darkness still held her in its firm grasp, sucking her deeper and deeper from the reality she had hoped to remove herself from.

“No!” he screamed, his voice reverberating off the walls. “You stop it right now!” The knife was then nestled against the base of her throat. He was going to end it all right then. He was going to stop her from being able to spill these pitiful words from her chest. He was going to finally end this poor creature’s life.

Kat finally slipped into the unconscious world, but that wasn’t going to stop Harry. It would make his job easier on him without her squirming about.

As he started to dig the knife into her neck, he couldn’t help but notice a slight tremor in his hand. The act usually calmed him right as he was about to finish it off. Usually, he would be nothing but graceful and flowing, his actions like a well-oiled machine that had been worked until it was perfected.

He shook his head hard and gripped the blade handle even tighter in his hand. He started shallow, a bead of blood pooling at the tip of his knife before slipping down the side of her neck to the sheet underneath. He pulled the knife away for just a moment, glancing at her. This was the time where he would usually give the girl one more look and savor whatever had drew his attention in the first place.

However, the longer he looked at Kat, the more his hands quaked. He shook his head again, trying to bring an end to the unsteadiness. For a moment, he was okay. He had to finish this quickly, he realized, and he leaned in towards her.

Harry might have been able shake away the tremor in his hands, but he couldn’t dodge the painful blow that struck him in the pit of his stomach as he went for his finale. It wasn’t Kat he was looking at anymore under his knife. It was a beautiful girl with green eyes, begging him just like Kat had, telling him it wasn’t his fault that his life had been such a disaster.

_That_ was what he couldn’t shake off.

It was a welcomed relief when a knock against the front door resounded through the apartment, perfectly cueing the end of Harry’s final act before he could close the curtains. This was one play that wouldn’t have a tragic scene at the end. Not yet at least. 

He pulled away from the lifeless body, the knife toppling from his trembling hands. “Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered. Thinking quickly, he pulled the surprisingly unstained comforter from the foot of the bed over her body, hiding the bloody mess underneath, so to any unsuspecting person, it looked like someone was sleeping in the bed. “Just a second!” he called out when the person knocked again.

Harry sprinted into the kitchen and washed off as much of the blood as he could before stripping off his shirt and tossing it into a hamper. There were specks of blood still on his pants and in his hair, but he decided he could possibly play it off as paint. That excuse wouldn’t get him very far with anyone that bothered to look a bit closer, but he didn’t have the time to do much else.

He took a few breaths to steady himself before opening the door just a tad. A blonde boy about Harry’s age stood there, a questioning look obvious on his face. “What the hell man?” Harry sighed, a bit of the apprehension slipping away. Josh leaned against the doorway and eyed Harry. The serious, almost worried expression on his face made Harry feel a bit uneasy as they stood there silently.

His composure finally broke as he smirked. “D’ya kill the bitch yet?” Josh had a certain way with words that could make even the most relaxed, poised individual want to take a swing and send the bastard flying backwards into the wall.

Harry hoped his nerves stayed hidden behind his usually stone-cold mask, however he was a bit paranoid. If anyone could see past it, Josh would be able to. He had joined the group soon after Harry did, but flourished into something no one could control. He was almost as good as Harry. Almost. “Um.. yeah. Just left the body,” Harry finally answered.

Josh raised his eyebrows. “Oh really?” he hummed. His eyes ran the length of Harry’s face, finally resting on his dark hair. “Why are you still covered in blood then?”

Harry reached up towards his curls and his hand found the wet substance. He stared at his hand for just a moment before wiping it off on his pants leg. “Uh...”

“You always shower right after a kill. What happened?”

He attempted to change the subject quickly. “How many did you get?”

Josh sneered proudly for just a second and replied, “Two just last night. I’m on a roll.” His demeanor changed after he spoke, reverting back to the animal intent on catching its prey. He wasn’t going to let this go until he knew _exactly_ what Harry had done. “What happened to the girl?”

“Listen,” Harry spoke, his voice lower than normal, “get out of here, ok?” Josh’s eyes lit up and widened at the sudden realization. 

“You didn’t kill her.”

“You don’t know that.” Josh stood up straight and tried to push on the door to get past Harry. He was back on the hunt for Harry’s leftovers.

“She’s in here, isn’t she?” he asked, attempting to peer around him. He glared at Harry went he stood in the way of his view.

He had to think quickly. Josh was getting antsy, and that was the worst possible thing that could happen right then. “No, she got away, ok? The bitch got away,” Harry sighed finally. He thought maybe if Josh was convinced she wasn’t in the apartment, he would leave and give Harry enough time to clean up this mess. However, the statement set Josh off immediately.

“What the fuck do you mean she got away?!”

“I mean she got away, Josh!”

Josh’s teeth gritted together as he stared at Harry. “You’ve fucked up. Big time, man. She could have already gone to the police! Do you want to get marked?!” He slammed his hand against the wall in a fit of anger. “You,” he started, pointing his finger towards the boy in the doorway, “have messed up. Game on. She’s mine.”

Harry walked out into the hallway and shut the door behind him, his eyes dark and serious once again. “What are you talking about?” he hissed.

Josh shook his head. “The organization has noticed how much you’ve been slacking lately. They sent me here to make sure you done your job. This was your last chance, Harry, and now, it’s my turn. I wanted her since you picked her and here’s my chance.”

“You better not lay a fucking finger on her.” Harry glowered at his colleague with his hands clenched in fists at his side. 

“I’ll do more than just lay a finger on her,” Josh said, licking his lips. A sickening smile then slowly emerged on his features. “You just don’t understand. If you hadn’t seen her first, she would have been _mine_. Good God, I would have enjoyed that, a lot more than you, that’s for sure.”

Harry pushed the boy’s shoulders hard and took a step towards him, snarling, “Shut up, Josh. You don’t want to start this.”

“Oh but I do.” Josh’s composure never faltered in the face of pure danger. He simply smirked and cocked his head to one side. “Consider it as a favor from me to you. I’m saving you from making the biggest mistake of your life. You spend enough time chasing her and you’re going to get soft. And I’ll be the least of your worries.”

Taking a step back, Harry shook his head. “I’m not getting soft. I’m not going to get marked, Josh,” he huffed. “We’ve all learned our lesson from that.”

Josh raised a speculative eyebrow and shrugged. “Game on then, my friend. May the best man win.” He let out one final laugh before walking down the hallway and out of sight. As soon as Harry couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, he rushed back into his apartment and bolted the door again.

He hurried over to the bed and pulled the sheets from her shoulders. “Kat, wake up,” he urged, shaking her bloody body. He stared at her for a few seconds to check that she was breathing. After a moment, her chest rose and fell, and Harry felt relief wash over him.

Harry sighed just a tad and uncovered her completely, throwing the blanket in the corner of the room. As he glanced over the damage, he felt anger burn deep in the pit of his stomach. Sympathy wasn’t a very well developed character trait he possessed. It wasn’t something that he usually had to experience. However, his hands clenched into fists when he felt the unfamiliar sensation surge through him. He didn’t want to feel bad for her. She was weak. She was just another defenseless, pathetic being that succumbed to survival of the fittest. So why in the hell did he feel bad for what had happened?

Usually, the women were dead right after he inflicted his blows, and they normally didn’t have to endure the pain that long after. They weren’t alive long enough to have to suffer. But Kat would soon have to wake up and bear the pain of the wounds that were etched over her skin. 

Harry knew he should have taken his chance when he could in that alleyway. He felt a moment of weakness and got a bit greedy. Why end the fun when you can prolong it? In hindsight, it wasn’t as good of an idea as originally thought.

After surveying her body for a few more moments, assessing the injuries’ need for attention, Harry decided the best way to go would be to wrap her body with gauze to soak up the blood that was still seeping from the wounds. Most of the cuts were shallow enough to heal on their own; however, the one that ran the length of her torso and a few of the defense wounds on her arms would take a bit more minding.

It wasn’t like Harry hadn’t ever taken care of wounds before. There were many times in his life he actually had to stitch himself up and nurse his body back to its prime. What he hadn’t ever done before was take care of someone else’s wounds. Especially when that someone was his own target and the wounds were ones that he had inflicted.

With a shake of his head, Harry gathered up his first aid kit from its spot under the bathroom sink before returning to the bedside. By then, Kat had started to stir, letting out small groans as she began to come to. It wouldn’t be long until she was fully conscious, and the momentary freak out would commence. 

Harry decided that it was too soon to wash her bloodied skin off. If he cleaned her off now, the blood would just get all over her again before the night was out, so what was the point? Anyways, he didn’t feel like putting in more effort than he had to at that point; she could clean off later. The main focus at that point was just to stop the bleeding.

A low moan came from the back of Kat’s throat as she shifted on the bed a little more. Harry rolled his eyes. He wanted to call her pathetic. He wanted to slap a bit of sense into her and yell at her to run and stop being so damn feeble. In all honesty, he really wanted her to get away. Run far away and leave him to go on with his next kill. He wanted her to just get the hell out of his life, but he knew that couldn’t happen at this point. She had seen too much of him. She knew where he lived. She knew way, way too much.

_You spend enough time chasing her and you’re going to get soft._

Josh’s words rang through his head just as if he had been standing there, murmuring them quietly right into Harry’s ear like the devil on his shoulder. The group had seen the results of someone getting soft which ended in a bloody consequence, but he knew he would never end up that way. He wasn’t weak. He was the strongest of the group, and this was simply something he would have to clean up later.

Harry could tell himself that as much as he wanted, but he couldn’t get the fact out of his mind that he had brought her here. He had a lapse in judgment, and brought her to his own residence. He had been weak.

It wouldn’t happen again.

Before he could think about it much more and talk himself out of it, Harry pulled a roll of gauze from the kit and started to unfold it. As he leaned forward towards her and touched her bare stomach to begin to wrap the material around the wound on her hips, Kat’s eyes snapped open.

“What... what happened? What are you doing?” The panic in her voice grew quickly and she started scrambling away from the man in front of her.

He rolled his eyes and scooted in closer, attempting to continue wrapping her body. “Just be still. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You just tried to kill me!” she yelled as she pushed his hand away from her.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead right now.”

She sat up quickly out of his reach, but instantly fell back, grasping her stomach. Her hands began to shake a little as the blood still seeped from the wounds. “Be still,” he said, his voice still firm, but oddly gentle. “If I don’t get these wrapped, you’ll pass out again.”

Kat jumped from the mattress and stared at him. “I don’t want you touching me,” she hissed. 

A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled his eyes. “Kat, stop.”

“No!” she shrieked, her panic rising as he pushed himself from the bed and began walking towards her. “Let me out of here!”

“Jesus Christ,” Harry groaned. “Stop being so stupid, would you?”

“Stay away from me,” she whispered, completely ignoring his demands. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. 

“Don’t be silly.” He took another step towards her. She pressed herself against the wall, hoping it would just swallow her whole and remove her from this situation. A sob tore from her throat as she slipped down the wall, huddled into her legs. Harry’s hands fell to his side in defeat. This wasn’t something he was used to dealing with, and it was one of the first times he had ever felt completely disarmed. 

“Kat,” he said sternly, kneeling down in front of her, “stand up here and let me get these wounds bandaged. I’m not trying to hurt you.” She looked up at him, her eyes scared and wild, appearing more like a cornered animal than a girl. Harry had seen that look plenty of times, but it usually died away with the light in their eyes when he finished them off.

When she didn’t offer to move, Harry continued, “I know that’s hard to believe, but please. You’re bleeding badly again, and I really don’t want you to pass out like you did before.” Kat glanced down again at her torso, and sure enough her shirt was beginning to drench with fresh blood. She looked back up at him, still completely petrified. What was she supposed to believe? 

She took a few quick breaths before making her choice and standing up, still watching him closely. She cringed as the wounds stretched with her movements. “The pain isn’t going to go away anytime soon.” She looked to him as he spoke. “Just a warning I guess,” he shrugged.

Eventually, Kat was seated on the edge of the bed, allowing Harry to meticulously wrap a roll of gauze around her stomach the best he could. The blood stained the white material, and she couldn’t bear to watch. Instead, she focused in on the man doing the work.

It was weird, watching him so engrossed in something other than evil. The way his fingers worked nimbly to unroll the gauze around her broken body was no different than any of his other movements. Every little action was planned out perfectly.

He worked his way up, covering the shallow slice on her lower stomach before his eyes trailed upwards towards her chest. “You’re gonna have to pull your shirt up,” he grumbled, snapping out of his trance. Kat’s heart jumped.

“N-No,” she stammered as she shook her head half-heartedly.

“You’re going to bleed out and it’s not going to be my fault this time.” She didn’t want to argue the fact that he was the one who had put the wounds there in the first place. She kept her mouth shut for once.

They sat there for a moment, completely still, until Kat swallowed hard and took the bottom hem of her shirt between her fingers. She unwillingly pulled the fabric up, stopping just below her breasts, giving him as much leeway as she possibly could without completely exposing herself.

He didn’t falter for one moment as she sat there in front of him, almost totally baring her body to him. The way he acted was completely professional. “Gonna have to watch this one,” he mumbled, mainly to himself, as he wrapped the remainder of the gauze around her torso. When that roll was gone, he grabbed a second from the kit and picked up where he left off.

After the chest were the arms. He held her wrist in his hands and turned the limb over a few times, inspecting each cut before starting to wrap them. “Not as deep as I thought. They’ll heal on their own.”

“Why are you doing this?” Kat asked suddenly. Her eyes were locked on his drawn face, and it took him a minute to look up and return her gaze.

“Because you were bleeding?” The statement came out more of a question as his face wrinkled with confusion. It seemed like the only obvious answer to him.

Kat shook her head, suddenly not feeling quite as brave. The experience before had slipped her mind momentarily. However, when he locked his dark eyes with hers, the images came flooding back. The sinister look wasn’t as obvious at that moment as he stared at her, but it was still there. It never fully left, no matter what. It was a part of his whole being. It would never disappear.

“But,” she started a bit quieter than before as she shook her head, “you just tried to kill me.”

“And now I’m not,” he quipped, snapping his eyes back to the task at hand. “Shut up and let me finish this.”

_That was how conversations were with Harry. He was the one to choose when and how the talking ended. If he didn’t want to discuss something, you couldn’t pull it out of him. He was a baby, really._

Kat smiled gently at the paper, scribbling out the last few words. It was true. Harry was a baby about most things. He was human underneath the tough exterior, no matter what awful things he did. There was still a normal twenty-something year old boy inside that shell and it came out at times that were unexpected.

She tore her eyes from the paper and glanced out the side window. It was moments like this where she wished she knew what Harry thought about the situation. He’d probably throw a complete fit, breaking that tough exterior and turning into the angry, sullen boy who didn’t agree with the choice his significant other was making. He might have even given her a lecture about how revenge was not the way to go, and that he was the poster child for that.

God, how she craved to hear him scold her one more time. She would give anything to see him break out of that shell and just be Harry, the concerned boy who had lost his way. The Harry that only she and select others had the privilege to see.

Kat let out a breath against the window before beginning to write once more.

_Thinking about it all now, I seemed a lot calmer than what a normal person would. It wasn’t my waking moments that brought about the fear and sheer panic. It was the unconscious moments. The moments where I was completely vulnerable and my subconscious ran rampant with images of bright red blood and dead eyes- both of which were my own._

_My mind handled situations in a much different way than others would. I don’t know if it helped or harmed me in the end. All I know is that I still dream about the events. It hasn’t gotten any easier._

_Anyways, after that night, things changed. I wouldn’t say for the better, but they definitely changed. It still astounds me just how quickly it all shifted, and how important everything was to eventually getting me to where I’m at._

_Every single occurrence after that point brought me to this ending, which also really amazes me. If one little detail had been misplaced, I probably wouldn’t be writing this right now, but here I am._

_Here I am._


	13. Chapter 13

Harry stepped towards to the Kat’s huddled body against the door, leering as he grew closer. “No one is going to interrupt this time,” he hummed. His knife sat ominously in his right hand. Kat tried to keep her eyes on the figure approaching her, but she couldn’t stop herself from casting her gaze down at the glinting metal object.

“I’m begging you,” she cried, her hands fumbling with the doorknob. Before she could grab the knob Harry’s hand wrapped around her upper arm. His nails dug painfully into the skin as he jerked her away from the only source of freedom she had in that apartment. “Let me go!” As she thrashed in his grip, her feet slipped out from underneath her, allowing her to tumble backwards onto the floor. Her head hit hard against the surface as she fell and she groaned out in pain.

Harry released her arm, sighing, “So damn clumsy. I’ll be glad when this is over.” Before Kat could push herself up and scramble to her feet, Harry dropped down on top of her, holding the knife in both hands. “Now,” he smirked, “you’re mine.”

With his final word, Harry plunged the knife into her chest, right below her breast bone. Kat let out an agonized scream as she slammed her hands into his shoulders in a feeble attempt to fend him off. He lifted the bloodied knife from her chest cavity only for a moment before sinking it in again, a little lower this time. 

With every blow of the knife, Kat’s attempts to fight the green-eyed boy off became weaker and weaker. Just breathing started to become a fight in itself. She felt the warm blood start to work its way into her throat as he stabbed time after time all over her torso. Every time she tried to take in a much needed breath, all she felt was blood filling her lungs. She tried to cry out, to beg him to spare her, but the words were absent from her lips. She couldn’t force them past the obstruction in her airway.

Harry’s lips were moving as he spoke, but a static sound had started to fill Kat’s hearing, and she couldn’t make a word out. All she knew was that he was enjoying the sight in front of him. He enjoyed seeing her dying at his own hands, her blood pooling underneath her body. He was a monster that couldn’t be saved, at least not by her now. Her time was over.

Suddenly, Kat sucked in a breath frantically, pushing herself into a sitting position in the bed. She wildly glanced around the room and found Harry sitting shirtless on the couch. “Um, morning?” he murmured, raising an eyebrow. He pushed forward on the couch just a bit and sat up straight.

Kat gulped in as much air as she possibly could, causing her chest to raise and fall in a sporadic manner. Tears of hysteria pricked at her eyes. She was a frenzied mess, and the sight she saw when she glanced down at the sheets didn’t help matters.

The fabric was soaked in blood. Her own blood. She lifted her hands in front of her face, taking in the sight of the stains that were covering them. She felt even fainter than before. Her vision became fuzzy, and she was threatening to tilt over and pass out in a matter of seconds.

Harry jumped up from the couch and rushed to the bedside. “Whoa, whoa,” he muttered hastily, “just calm down. Your cut must have opened up while you were sleeping.”

However, Kat didn’t calm down. She continued to breathe wildly as she clenched her eyes closed as tight as she could. This lasted for a few more seconds before she felt hands grip her shaking shoulders, and when she opened them, Harry was right in front of her. “Listen to me. You’re going to look straight at me, and not down at the bed, okay?” His voice was stern as he spoke, making sure that his words reached past her hysterical state. When she didn’t answer, he continued, speaking a bit louder. “Kat! You need to listen to me. You’re going to pass out again if you don’t calm down.”

Her eyes found his after just a moment, and she began to try to calm herself. She pulled in one long, heavy breath, followed by a shorter one, and then another long one. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Just like she was always taught. The color started to come back to her cheeks just barely and Harry nodded. “Good girl, keep doing that.”

If the breathing didn’t sober her up, the soft sound of his voice did. It startled her just slightly, but she continued taking in the most practiced breaths that she could, trying to still her trembling body. After a few more deep breaths, Harry nodded and removed his hands from her shoulders. “Will you let me look?” he asked, motioning towards her wet, bloodied shirt. Her hands instantly flew to her center, covering the stomach.

“No,” she whispered after shaking her head.

“Just a look, okay?” Kat stared at him momentarily before slowly taking her hands away from her shirt. Harry nodded just once before reaching forward and hiking the fabric up away from the skin. “Yeah,” he muttered to himself, “just what I thought. You must have moved the gauze while you slept and it opened back up. I’ll need to rewrap it.”

She made the mistake of glancing down and clenched her eyes shut. “I- I need to get this blood off of me,” Kat gasped. 

Harry exhaled, his eyebrows meshing together. “I guess you’re right.” His lips pressed into a hard line as he looked her over, not quite sure of his answer. He finally nodded and took a step away from the bed. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine,” he repeated. “You can shower. I swear to God though, if you pull any stupid shit, I will do what I should have done in the first place.” The anger washed through his words, but he sighed after they had been spoken. “Bathroom’s through the door right there. Clean towels are in the closet. I’ll get you some fresh clothes and lay them out for you.” Kat shakily pushed off of the blood-soaked mattress, taking just a moment to make sure she could walk, and made her way to the small room off the main area. She closed the door and reached for the lock, when low and behold, there wasn’t one.

“Of course,” she mumbled. She stepped in front of the sink and lifted her head, meeting the face in the mirror in front of her. “Oh my god.” The reflection mouthed the same words as her and mimicked her every move, but she couldn’t convince herself that that was really her own figure she was looking at. The girl in the mirror looked as if she was a victim of some horror movie you’d find on television during a late night, not a girl that worked in the local bookstore and sipped chamomile tea on her off time.

Kat slowly reached her hand up and trailed her finger tips across the battered skin on her face. The two cuts on her cheekbones were covered in drying blood, which also was smeared across the rest of her face. Her eyes were inflamed and terribly puffy, as they were every time she cried really hard. 

Her gaze trailed down from her face to her neck, falling upon the small nick that was almost what ended her life. She shuttered at the thought. Before she undressed, she turned the water on to let it begin to heat up. Once the water was blasting from the shower head, she walked back in front of the mirror, readying herself for what she was about to do.

Kat slipped her arms down and grabbed the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head. It dropped to the floor as she glanced back up towards the mirror. Then, she began to unravel the gauze that Harry had so meticulously wrapped around her body. Why had he been so careful with that task? She was his victim, a target for the violent crime he so desperately wanted to commit. So why had he spent so much time trying to help her? Maybe he just wanted her to last a bit longer so he could enjoy it as long as he could. 

Her torso and arms were injured worse than her face was, and she instantly felt sick when all of the gauze was removed. Her pale skin was blemished with cuts ranging in size from small scratches to deep gashes on her arms from when she attempted to fight back. The worst ones though were the ones that he had taken pleasure in placing on her body. It made it worse in her mind that he wanted to see them there. He had planned out exactly where he wanted to place those cuts. He probably had thought about it for days before he finally launched his attack.

The vertical cut that ran from right below her breasts down to her belly button was still bleeding a tad, but not like it had been before. It had started to scab over. Her guess was that it had begun to bleed earlier in the night, giving it time to heal over slightly before she woke up and discovered what had happened.

After a few moments, Kat couldn’t stand to look at her body anymore. She huffed out a sigh as she turned to open the closet and grab one of the washcloths and a towel from inside. When the water was finally heated, she stepped into the shower and let the water cascade over her head, soaking her long hair and entire body.

She glanced around the shower and made a slight face when she realized she didn’t have any of her own products. Reluctantly, she grabbed the nearest bottle of shampoo and massaged it through her hair, taking in a deep breath. As the substance flowed down her body, she hissed in pain. It stung her open wounds painfully, but there was nothing she could do about it. She continued rinsing her broken body off, trying to pick apart the situation at hand.

What was she supposed to do? She tried running. She couldn’t kill him. She was no match for his strength. So where did that leave her? 

Completely screwed.

Kat took the cloth and slowly washed over her body, careful not to irritate any of the cuts that were scattered all over. Every few minutes, she would hit a sore spot on her skin and would flinch, jerking her hand away as quick as she could. As she was cleaning herself off, she heard the door open for just a moment and close back quickly. She peeked around the shower curtain. Harry had laid a set of clothes out on the counter for her when she was done. 

When someone writes about a serial killer, the majority of it is about the evils that the person commits. What usually doesn’t make it into the final cut is that in most cases, they were not evil 24/7. John Wayne Gacy, the murderer of at least 33 men and boys, was married with a steady job and hobbies. Dennis Nilson, a man who killed 15 male individuals and discarded the chopped up pieces of their bodies down his drains, served in the Royal British Army for many years.

These men had lives. They had everything at their disposal to live healthy, semi-normal lives, but something went drastically wrong. 

Kat wondered about Harry’s story. Had his childhood been rough? Had he been abused? What could have caused him to follow in the footsteps of the world’s most hated beings?

Her many years of studying the brain made her think in ways that a normal person wouldn’t. Normal people would be absolutely repulsed at what Harry and these other gentlemen did, but all Kat could think about was what got them to that point. However, as soon as she would dive into whatever thoughts she was building around his situation, she was immediately jerked back to reality when she remembered what he had tried to do to her. She wasn’t just a bystander trying to figure out his story; she was a victim of his vicious acts.

Once she finally was done washing off, she flipped the water off and stepped out into the steamy bathroom, wrapping herself with the towel she had laid out. She grabbed the clothes that Harry had placed on the counter and unfolded them. There was an oversized, white Green Bay Packers t-shirt and a pair of grey, slouchy sweatpants. She dropped the towel and grabbed her underwear, making a face. She had always hated wearing the same underwear twice without washing, but what was she supposed to do about it? At least she had clean clothes.

Quickly, she pulled the clothes on. They were a bit too big on her, hanging off of her body in places that they would probably hug Harry perfectly. After running a brush through her hair, she wrapped it in the towel and finally emerged from the bathroom. 

“Did those clothes fit?” a voice called from a small door across from the bathroom. 

“They’re sort of big, but they work well enough.” She padded barefoot on the hardwood floor, crossing the living room quickly and peeking into the doorway. Harry was loading the crimson stained sheets into the washer in the laundry room. When he heard her walk up to the door, he turned and glanced down towards her body.

His lips turned upwards in a smirk as he went back to his task. “You look better in them than I do.” As he spoke, he turned the water on and dashed a bit of laundry detergent into the tub along with a splash of bleach.

“So,” she started, ignoring his comment, “are you going to wrap me up again?”

“Are you going to let me?” he quipped. He closed the top of the washer and walked towards the door as she stepped back away, allowing him to shut it. She nodded just barely, earning a roll of his eyes. “Sit down on the couch. I’ll get the kit.”

He passed by her as she turned and walked to the broken down couch, sitting on the edge carefully. As he plundered through the bathroom cabinets, Kat closed her eyes, letting out a small breath. It was still dark out, probably around three in the morning, and she felt absolutely exhausted. She had been interrupted, of course, but what little bit of sleep she had gotten wasn’t near peaceful. The tossing and turning she had done was probably what caused the gauze to be removed from its secure location.

Harry finally came back into the living room and sat beside her, pausing to hand her a wet washcloth before pawing through his kit. “Listen,” he said as he pulled a tube of medicine out of the items, his voice smooth as silk, “this is going to sting pretty badly. But it’ll be over quick.” 

His hand reached to push her shirt up, but she jumped back. Their eyes found each other and it was obvious she was still terrified. She had a reason to be. “Kat.” His voice was stern, but still velvety smooth. Slowly, she moved her hands from her stomach and swallowed hard. “Good girl,” he murmured.

He pushed the fabric away from the wound, his eyes still fixed on hers, trying to soothe her as much as he could. Then, he took the washcloth from her hands and began to dab at the edges of the wound. After he wiped away the excess blood, he squirted a bit of the ointment onto his fingers, and gently applied it on the cut. Kat flinched away from his hand and hissed between her teeth. “Talk to me,” he insisted. “Tell me about yourself.”

“What the hell do you want to know?” she sighed, her face still contorted in pain.

“Tell me about you. What do you like to do in your free time?” Kat eyed him questionably.

“What are you trying to do?” she asked as she settled back down on the couch. He let out an exasperated sigh and stared at her. “Fine, fine. I mostly read, I guess.” Harry lowered his hand down towards her stomach again and began daubing the medicine to her skin as she spoke. 

“What do you read?”

“Anything I can get my hands on, really. Mainly poetry though, I guess.” Harry finally finished applying the cream to one gash and began working on the one right above the waistband of the shorts.

“Do you have a favorite poem?” Kat nodded. “Well? What is it?”

She took a deep breath and answered, “Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.”

Harry glanced up at her for just a moment before going back to work. “And why is that?”

She shrugged just a tad as Harry wiped his hand with a clean spot on the cloth. He grabbed the gauze and motioned for her to sit up completely straight. “He’s always been a favorite author of mine.” The gauze was wrapped around her waist quickly as she spoke, giving her no time to pay attention to what he was doing.

He then moved to her arms and repeated the actions, this time in silence. His hands moved swiftly around her limbs until he finally wrapped up any spot that had a deep enough cut. “Done.” Kat looked down and admired his handiwork.

“You were just trying to distract me.”

He gave a small shrug and sat back away from her. “It worked didn’t it?” 

Kat reached up and touched her cheek, flinching from the contact. “What about these?” she asked. 

“I can put some of this on there too, if you’d like. It’ll help keep infections away.” Kat exhaled and shook her head.

“Why? Why are you even trying to clean me up? You... you wanted me dead.”

He nodded a little. “Yeah, I did.” He squeezed out a bit more of the cream and leaned in towards her face. Kat’s breath hitched in her throat as she turned away instinctively. “You’ve got to face me if I’m going to help it.” His face was so close to hers, and it only got closer when she turned back towards him. “Just like that...” he said softly. He reached up and dabbed the medicine onto one cheek.

Kat didn’t need Harry to distract her this time with mindless questions. She had that covered herself. Harry might have been an absolute monstrosity, but to say he was an attractive one was an understatement. 

His eyes were his most striking feature. Eyes of such grandeur were rarely found in the world these days. They were eyes that writers dream about every day, but most would never see personally in their whole lives. His hair was an unruly mop of curls, pushed back with a sweep of a hand, sticking up in places it shouldn’t be. He desperately needed a haircut, but Kat wasn’t going to be the one that dared to say it. 

Her eyes trailed down from his face to his chest, drawn there by the two birds gliding over his collarbone. They were both intricately shaded, and upon closer inspection, were actually two separate birds. They both had their own features and personalities, strangely enough. One was slightly more feminine than the other. It was smaller, with more curves and delicate features, while the other was bigger and stouter.

Harry glanced at her. “They were for my sister and me,” he explained, answering her inner questions. He touched her chin a little and turned her head to start on the other cheek.

“You have a sister?” She wasn’t sure why, but the thought of Harry having a family was completely foreign to her. She hadn’t thought about the fact that he came from a mother, father, and possibly siblings that might have loved him very much. 

“Um.. yeah.” His eyes darted away for a split second. He looked back at her and it was clear that conversation was over. “All done,” he exhaled, wiping his hands again.

Her next thought came out as not just a thought, but an audible statement. “Harry...” she said softly. “What happened to you? You’re... so normal. Handsome, even.” 

He gazed at her, his eyes muddled with confusion. “You don’t mean that.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m serious. When I first saw you outside the coffee shop, I thought you were just some local Uni student. Maybe a photography or music major.”

“So I blended in,” he affirmed with a nod.

“It was more than that.”

He cut her off quickly. “Listen, I know what you’re doing. You think if you reach out to me and ‘help my inner demon,’ I’ll let you go. It’s not going to work.”

She huffed out a laugh. “I’ve given up on getting out of here alive. But studying psychology makes me curious I guess.” He sat back against the couch and sighed just a tad. She followed his lead and sat back, still a bit hesitantly.

“If you try to run, I swear to God I’ll make sure you regret it,” he warned, his eyes dark and serious once more. She held her hands up in defense.

“I’ve tried that; it didn’t work out too well.”

“Damn right,” he said, his sinful smirk returning.

Quickly, she tried to get the conversation back on track. “You didn’t answer me.”

“I don’t have an answer.”

“Come on. What is so terrible that you turned to slicing up innocent girls as retribution?”

“You want to play this game?” he growled. His mood changes continued to take her by surprise. It was such a quick change, jerking her for a loop every time it happened. “What about you? What the hell are _you_ running from, Kat Samuels?”

She stammered for words. “N... Nothing.” She watched him as the anger visibly returned. 

“See, you’re fucking lying. What are you running from?” he continued. “Why would a 19 year old honor student going to school on a full ride at Northwestern University in Chicago, majoring in psychology, minoring in journalism, leave all that behind to come to London and work in a god forsaken bookstore for three years? Riddle me that, please, because _shit_. I would _love_ to know.”

“How the hell do you know all that?” she whispered, alarmed. 

A throaty laugh trickled from his lips. “I know so much more than that. I know your mom’s name is Jan and your dad is Phil. You’ve got a younger sister named Jen who you always slightly envied because the boys always went after her. Everyone always thought she was prettier than you, and although I think she’s something to look at, she’s got nothing on you. You graduated top of your class and was able to go on to Northwestern which is about an hour from your house in North Barrington. Oh, and John, your first boyfriend? Yeah he’s doing great. He still thinks of you a lot though, or so I hear.” Harry gave a small shrug and glared at her. “I know more about you than you do, so if you want to play this game,” he said as he leaned in towards her, his voice lowering, “just remember I will _always_ win.” 

Kat’s breathing sped up just a little as she stared at him, speechless. He knew everything about her. Every single little detail.

She realized quickly that it wasn’t just her that was in trouble now. Her whole family was in jeopardy. This killer knew about her family, her hometown, and even her past relationships. Everyone she knew was in danger. Her whole life had been drug into this now, and even if she did somehow manage to get away, he knew exactly where to find her if she went back home.

This wasn’t just about her anymore. Everything she ever loved was now on the line.


	14. Chapter 14

Two days crept past and there were still no changes. Harry spent the majority of that time ignoring Kat like she didn’t exist. He hardly looked at her, let alone spoke. A mumble here and there was all she got. As much as Kat would have preferred that, the quiet began to eat away at her.

It wasn’t necessarily the silence that was the problem. It was what came with it. The silence allowed her to dig herself into a hole in her mind, picking apart the situation like she was oh so good at. There came a point where she was almost certain she had Harry’s daily schedule mapped out in her head, simply because she had seen it a few times over.

He would be awake when she woke up. Always. He would be sitting on the couch shirtless, one leg draped over the other, a cup of tea in his hand. The television stayed on; however, the sound was usually so low that only a slight murmur could be heard. After his tea was gone, he would eat a quick breakfast, and offer her some toast, which she graciously accepted.

Then, his “day” would begin. He spent hours on his laptop, printing pages off and slipping them into a folder that sat on his desk. When he was satisfied with the work he had completed, he would take the folder and hide it away in a false bottom in the drawer of his desk. 

After straightening up the apartment, it was time for lunch, and then he took the time to study the pages he had printed off earlier.

This took up the rest of his day. He would immerse himself, completely losing track of time. He would read the facts over and over again, and Kat only assumed it was information on the target he had shown to her. Her time had to be coming soon.

A quick dinner before checking on his captive, and he was back to work on the information.

He stuck to that basic schedule for the week that she was there. Until the seventh day.

On the seventh day, he had cooked a full English breakfast, and didn’t touch his computer. He also actually brought up a conversation with her for the first time in three days.

“If you need,” he mumbled through a bite of his bacon, “you can shower again. And help yourself to the food in there. There’s plenty.”

Kat had already eaten the food he had offered to her, which was a plate of eggs, with a side of sausage, bacon, and tomato, so she shook her head. “No thanks, but I will shower, I guess. If that’s okay, that is.”

He nodded and gave her a bit of a smile, which threw her off. This monster had the smile of an angel, and it again was completely unfair. Why was it fair that he used his looks to draw people in only to ruin their lives in the process? He was the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it still jarred Kat to see it in action. “Here.” He stood up and crossed to the dresser, pulling out another pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. He tossed them to her before returning to his meal.

When she was alone in the bathroom, she undressed and unraveled the gauze from around her abdomen. Harry had been tending to the wounds for the past few days, silently scoping them out each morning and evening. They still looked gruesome and hurt terribly at times, but they were healing, thankfully. However, she still couldn’t look at them without feeling sick to her stomach.

She spent the least amount of time unclothed as possible to shower, for the sheer fact that she hated staring at the reminders etched into her skin.

Once she was done washing, she quickly exited the shower, dried off, and dressed in record time. The clothes didn’t cover the wounds on her arms, but the worst ones were hidden under the shirt. When she opened the bathroom door, Harry was already waiting for her on the freshly made bed with gauze to wrap her up. The smile was still sitting perfectly on his lips, enticing her just like he had at the coffee shop the first night they met. The night that everything changed.

Kat paused for one second at the doorway, frozen. The boy on the bedside didn’t look like the monster she knew he was. He looked like a simple boy, happy and excited about life. However, she knew that wasn’t true. His life had been ripped from him and replaced with this twisting horror story. Whether it was by his own choice, or forced on him, he still had to live through it.

“Come on,” he chuckled, patting the mattress beside him. This action shocked her even more than the smile, but she moved forward somehow. She sat in front of him before lifting her shirt up. Routine. As his hands began to work around her body, Harry spoke softly, “Looking better. Still healing, but better.”

Kat kept quiet through the process. She watched his hands work swiftly to twist the material over the wounds, hiding them- thankfully- from her sight. 

As she was watching, she couldn’t help but notice his hands slip a few times. His eyes would trail away from the spot he was working with and scan over her body, only returning to the area when he realized he was getting too preoccupied. Finally, after wrapping her arms quickly, he gathered up his kit and placed it on the bedside table.

Usually by that point, Harry would be working on his computer. However, he stood in front of her, his eyes trailing over the baggy clothes that hung off her body.

“You know what?” When her eyes met his, he continued speaking, “I bet your boyfriend had a time with you, didn’t he?”

“Oh my god,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “What makes you say that?”

“Just look at you. He must have had as much virtue as a fucking nun with you walking around like that all the time.” Kat responded with a loud laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest. “If you must know,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around her legs, “you’re exactly right. He always talked about some ‘wait until the moment was right’ bull. I just think he was scared.”

“Scared? Of you?” Harry laughed as he dropped down in his normal seat on the couch.

“Not of me. Of being intimate.”

Her last word made him break out into a fit of laughter. He had laughed only a few times since the ordeal, but this one was different. He was genuinely tickled at what she had said, and as much as he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from giggling like a small boy. “Intimate?” he croaked, slapping his knee. 

“That’s not funny!” she cried. “It was awful!”

“But you said _intimate_. Intimate!”

She stared at him as he doubled over. “Is that not what it’s called?!”

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and finally stopped laughing. “Sweetheart,” he said when he finally looked up at her, “it’s called fucking. Not being intimate. Guys don’t care about intimate. They care about sex.” His eyes were bright with humor as he spoke, but the words he was saying didn’t strike her as funny.

“Not all of them,” she mumbled. Her eyes dropped towards the comforter of the bed.

“Sorry to break it to you, princess, but it’s the truth.” 

Kat stretched out her legs and shook her head. “With that attitude, I bet you got all the ladies, didn’t you?” The words came out a bit more sarcastic than she intended, but he surprisingly didn’t lash out like she was expecting.

“You’d be surprised,” he smirked, crossing one of his legs over the other. 

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Kat felt a strange sense of bravery as she pried into Harry’s personal life. She concluded it was because he already knew almost everything there was to know about her life, but she hardly knew anything about him. Maybe, she thought, if she knew more about him, she could understand where his reasoning for his actions came from.

He turned his head slowly towards her, his dark eyes boring into hers. “Love, your poor heart couldn’t take the truth.”

“Try me.” She defiantly crossed her arms over her chest and returned his stare.

“Fine.” His sneer grew faintly, causing Kat to become uncomfortable. She didn’t like when his eyes grew dark like they were right then. She knew that look just a bit too well, and she didn’t really want to deal with the consequences again. Immediately, she regretted her boldness and brash comments. “My motto is simply fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. I don’t date.”

Kat scrunched her nose and shook her head. “What’s the fun in that?”

“Oh god, where’s the fun in being tied down to someone and getting bored?” 

“It’s not about being tied down,” Kat replied with a roll of her eyes. “It’s about sharing something with someone you care about. It’s about being there for someone when they need you and just... having a good time.”

“You’re quite the virgin, aren’t you?” Surprisingly, Kat stayed quiet. Her gaze moved around the room as she tried to avoid his prying eyes. “What? Are you not a virgin?” Harry’s voice softened only slightly, humor dripping from his words.

She swallowed hard. “I’m really tired,” she rushed, faking a small yawn as she laid back in the sheets.

“Oh no, no.” He stood up and walked over to the side of the bed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down at her. “You’re not a virgin.”

He was right, though. She had only slept with one boy- her ex-boyfriend John. They both had struggled with the “wait till the right moment” ploy. The night of her senior prom, she gave into the cliché, got a bit drunk with him, and slept with him in the backseat of his car. So much for the right moment.

Her sex life wasn’t necessarily what she wanted to talk about with Harry. It was one thing for him to make her completely flustered, but it was a totally different thing that he almost took her life from her. “Harry, I’m tired.” 

She rolled over onto her side and pulled the covers over her. She hoped when she closed her eyes tight that he would get the point and leave her alone, but Harry wasn’t having any of it. He stood there, intrusively leaning over her, still staring. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Kat groaned and sat back up, glaring at the tall figure right over her. “Jesus Christ. No, I’m not a virgin.”

Harry’s eyes gleamed intensely with that dark look again. “You look like you’d be fun in bed. You gave me quite a fight. I bet you’d be even better in the sheets.”

Kat’s cheeks burned red hot as she clenched her fists at her sides. “I’d rather not discuss this with you.”

“Oh why not, _love_?” he crooned, placing a finger under her chin. He lifted her face up, forcing her to look at him.

She jerked her head away hard. “You tried to kill me, and now you’re holding me hostage in your apartment. No, I really don’t think I want to talk about my personal life with you.”

“Holding you hostage would mean you wanted to leave. You’re too intrigued in my life to get out now,” he replied in a low tone before breathing out a laugh. “And, you’re safer here. But back to important matters. Since you’re here, we might as well have some fun, right?”

Kat grimaced and shook her head. “Leave me alone.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Harry sat down beside her on the bed, still boring holes into her with his intense stare. “You know you’ve thought about it.”

“I have not!” she exclaimed, turning back towards him. He raised one of his eyebrows as his lips turned upwards into a vicious smile.

“Yeah, you have. You want me right here, right now.” He paused to laugh before continuing, “We already know I can make you scream. Why don’t we put it to use?” Kat wanted to punch him. She really wanted to slam her fist against that smirk that was plastered on his face. However, she knew the consequences she would have to deal with weren’t worth one punch.

“I do NOT want you,” she spat out angrily. “Anyways, you’re probably not even that good in bed.” Silence fell over the two as Harry’s smile slowly faded from his lips. “ _Oh shit_ ,” she thought, her face paling. She knew she had messed up the instant the words flew from her mouth. 

“What did you say?” he asked low, his voice barely over a whisper.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“No. I want to hear you say it again. You were so sure of yourself a few seconds ago.”

Kat shook her head quickly. “I... I didn’t mean it,” she stammered, her breathing quickening. 

“Say. It. Again.” His voice bellowed around them and Kat clenched her eyes closed.

“I said you probably aren’t great in bed.” Her answer came out weak, trailing off quietly as she forced her eyes down towards the bed.

“You want to fucking bet on that?” he growled. Before she had time to process what was happening, Harry had grabbed her arms and forced her down against the bed, quickly straddling her waist. His hips pushed hard against hers.

Kat let out a small yelp as her head hit the pillow. When she opened her eyes, Harry’s face was inches from hers, causing her to swallow hard. She stared up at him, completely dumbstruck. “Take it back.” His husky, rough voice went straight through her body, and she shuttered underneath him. 

She couldn’t answer. All she could do was stare up into his wicked eyes with her mouth opened slightly in shock. He leaned in closer to her, his lips so close she could feel the warmth off of them. “Take it back,” he said again. However this time, his tone was different. He whispered the words softly, his hot breath hitting her face. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest and she was sure that he could probably feel it with how close he was pressed against her. 

Harry’s eyes glanced slowly down her face, finally stopping at her lips. The angry expression on his face softened a tad when he finally locked his eyes back on hers. Her stomach flopped nervously. She tried to ask him what he was doing. She tried to get him to snap out of whatever it was that he was in, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t say a word.

The look in his eyes told her something was different, but she wasn’t sure what exactly that something was. Maybe he just wanted to kill her a little less. Maybe he was just fucking with her head even more.

Before he could answer, his eyes were closing and he was moving in towards her lips slowly, getting ready to close the gap and kiss her.

_And I almost gave in._

Kat scribbled slowly, smiling to herself. The look in his eyes that she saw that night had become somewhat of a fond memory for her. He was always such an intense person, but there were those few, rare moments where he let his guard down a miniscule amount and those were the moments that Kat would cherish for the rest of her life.

_Almost._

Before she knew what she was doing, Kat turned her head quickly, causing his lips to press right below her ear.

As soon as he made contact with her skin, it was as if an electric shock ripped through him, and he pushed off of her as quick as he could. When Kat felt Harry’s weight lift from her body, she turned her head to stare at him with wide eyes.

The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. He hadn’t meant for that to happen. Not one bit. He was as surprised as she was, and for just a split second, the astounded expression satisfied Kat. The mask that he wore so well had cracked momentarily, allowing her a glimpse at the boy underneath.

However, it vanished as quickly as it appeared, and he slipped back into the gruff, angry front he was accustomed to being.

Harry huffed out breath as he stood. “Don’t test me again,” was his only remark about the incident. He was trying to push it away from his thoughts, but it was obvious from the still slightly confused look on his features that it wasn’t going away as easy as he would have liked.

Kat didn’t try to push it like she wanted to. She didn’t ask him why he tried to kiss her. She didn’t ask if it was a sincere action. She didn’t speak at all.

Instead, she sat there in silence, like she had grown used to for the past few days. She figured that was her best bet at that moment.

As the hours trickled by, Kat couldn’t help but notice the change in the atmosphere. Harry wasn’t acting like the calm and composed animal he usually was. His mind seemed scattered. His thoughts seemed to bounce in every direction. One moment, he would be trying to focus on the television, and the next, he would be staring off into space, drawn to a spot on the wall across from him, looking at nothing in particular.

Finally, with an exasperated groan, Harry gave up on relaxing and stood from the couch. He made his way into the kitchen, just out of sight of Kat, but she knew what he was doing. It was lunch time.

After a few moments of rustling around the kitchen, he walked back out with a half of a sandwich in his hand. Instead of sitting like normal, he paced the apartment floor, back and forth, around and around. She sat there awkwardly watching him as he stalked around the apartment. “Stop staring,” he finally grumbled after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. 

“Not staring,” she replied just as gruffly. 

“Sort of staring.” Kat rolled her eyes, to which Harry sighed. “Hungry?” he asked, turning around to look at her, the angry expression almost completely vanished from his face. She gave a small shrug. “Sure you are.” 

“Maybe I’m not hungry.” Harry threw a look over his shoulder as he walked back into the kitchen, finishing off the last bite of his food. “Okay, fine. I’m hungry.”

A smirk was what she got in response. He opened the freezer and pulled something in a plastic wrapper out of it. “Not five star quality, but you’ll deal.” After placing it on the counter, Harry grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and started to walk back into the living room.

She glanced over towards the package to inspect the item, which turned out to be a microwave burrito. “What if I don’t want it?” Kat crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

“Then I guess you’ll starve.” She sighed just a little before deciding not to fight, and to just prepare the food. “That’s what I thought,” he laughed. He sat down on the old couch and crossed his legs, focusing on the television. 

As she ripped open the plastic of the burrito, she took a look around the room. A glint of metal caught the corner of her eye. She turned towards the object and realized quickly what it was. 

A knife was sitting inside the sink, almost mocking her with its close proximity. She wasn’t sure if it was the one that Harry had used in the various attacks, but it was still enough to bring her reeling back into her memory. The images flooded her thoughts as her knees collapsed beneath her. She gripped the counter as hard as she could and took deep breaths to steady her shaking body. 

Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. After regaining her balance, Kat tiptoed to the corner of the kitchen doorway and peaked out. Harry was still sitting on the couch, his eyes halfway closed. 

Completely vulnerable. 

She walked back into the kitchen and reached for blade handle, her fingers wrapping around it forcefully. Her knuckles turned white as she stared down at the weapon. She could slit his throat in a matter of seconds. All she had to do was be as quiet as possible and sneak up behind him. His throat was completely exposed at this point. 

The metal blade wobbled a little in her hand as she imagined him dying at her own hands, the blood pouring from the gaping wound. He would look up at her, gasping for his last breath, his once bright, stunning eyes now dead and dim.

_And as I looked down at that blade, picturing his blood all over my hands, I knew I couldn’t do it. I just wasn’t a murderer then. There was something that was making him do all this and I guess in my mind, this story couldn’t end without knowing that. Why kill him before I learned all I could about him?_

Kat let out a soft laugh and scribbled a little more.

_Maybe I should have killed him._

The knife dropped from her hand with a metallic clang just as the microwave timer beeped. She let out a small, shuttering sigh and turned to grab the food. “Making quite a racket in here, aren’t you?” She spun around and there he was, leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed and a smirk plastered on his lips. His eyes trailed from her, to the knife, and back once again.

She turned back around and grabbed the plate, trying to rush past him. “I was just getting my food,” she whispered. He threw an arm out in front of her to stop her from passing him.

She stopped dead in her tracks as he leaned down painfully slow to her ear. “You may not believe me,” he started, his voice low and menacing, “but you’re the safest here for now. I’d suggest you not do anything to fuck that up.” They stood there motionless for a few seconds before his hand slid down the wall and out of her way. He tossed his water bottle in the trash and turned back towards her.

“How in the world am I safer here?” she asked, walking into the living room to the couch.

He walked out from the kitchen behind her and to the other side of the couch, crossing his long gangly legs. “I think it’s better for you to just understand that you are.” Kat lifted the burrito from the plate and stared at it. “Not up to your standards?” She just rolled her eyes and bit into it hungrily. Harry stood up after a few seconds and walked into the kitchen. The fridge opened and closed, and he was back at the couch, holding another bottle of water. He held it out towards her.

She took it slowly. “Um... thanks,” she said, eyeing it. She set the plate down on the coffee table in front of them so she could open the water. 

Most girls in her situation would be cowering in the corner, fear pulsing through their bodies. Kat was different though. Of course she was scared. She was sitting in close proximity to a known killer. However, her mom always told her the phrase “curiosity killed the cat” was made especially for her. How poignant that her name fit it so well.

Kat fiddled with the burrito for a long while before glancing up at Harry. He was watching her every move and smirked a bit when she looked up. “I could sit and watch you all day,” he murmured. “I almost called off the kill because of how... invested I got.”

She shook her head and replied, “I don’t think I understand.” She finished off the last few bites of the burrito and sat the plate down on the coffee table before taking another sip of the water.

Harry crossed one leg over his other as he spoke. “It’s hard to explain, but I almost let you go. I almost turned away in that coffee shop.”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked as she finally looked up from her cuticles she had been picking at mindlessly. His eyes were still overwhelmingly narrowed in on her, dark and alluring. She was not used to people looking at her so intensely and honestly, it struck more fear in her than the situation she was in. It was a different kind of fear, though. A fear of the future, and of actually looking at someone that way later in life. A fear of feeling something that powerful.

He stared at her for a few moments silently, his brows wrinkled in thought. “I don’t really know,” he replied with a shrug.

“Are you just saying this so I’ll let my guard down?”

Harry let out a throaty laugh, tilting his head back just a tad. “No,” he finally responded as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “I could just tell you were wondering.”

“Well, I mean I’m curious.” She shrugged and let out a small sigh. “Like, why me, I guess? I’m just an ordinary girl from Illinois. Nothing special.”

“Exactly!” he said, pointing his finger at her. “That’s it right there.” Kat stared at him and shook her head in confusion. “You’re ordinary. You think you’re... nothing,” he explained. “There are all these girls that try to fake who they are and that’s just not appealing to me. But you... you’ve found yourself and you’re fine with who you are. You don’t need a secret identity like... well me for example. You just walk around every day, going along your little routine, not hiding one little bit.” 

“I was always told I needed to be myself in life and that’s going to be what wind up getting me killed,” she sighed. Harry laughed a bit and stretched his leg out, sitting up straight. She glanced over at him slightly. “Harry, how long have you been... doing what you do?” 

He smiled knowingly. “I knew you’d get nosy.” Kat watched him, waiting for him to continue. “I was 14 when I killed for the first time.”

“And you’re how old now?”

“Twenty-three. And before you ask, no, I don’t know how many people I’ve killed since I’ve started.” Kat squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “What? Does that bother you?” She glanced up at the smug figure in front of her. She knew that even if she lied to him, he would be able to know the minute she opened her mouth. He lied for a living. There was no way her pathetic fibs would get around him.

There was one question that had continued to bounce around in her mind ever since he grabbed her in that alley. She swallowed hard and spoke. “Why?”

“Why what?” He raised an eyebrow and continued staring at her, obviously satisfied with how uneasy she was.

Kat let out a sigh and looked back down at her fingers. “Why did you start killing?” she finally blurted out. She didn’t dare look up at him. Her courage that she had built up to ask the question would instantly evaporate as soon as she made eye contact with him, and she felt like this was an answer she needed to hear.

What she didn’t know was that he didn’t plan on telling her anytime soon. “Oh, love, I think I’ll save the sob story for some other time. I like to keep you guessing.” Slowly, Harry leaned forward towards her. He licked his lips delicately, staring right at the girl. “Why do you care so much?” he whispered, his eyes scanning her face. He was trying to figure her out, but like all the times before, he got lost wading through the information.

She stammered over her words for a few moments as she continued to stare down at her hands. “I’m not sure,” she spit out.

“Everyone always wants to know why I want to kill them,” he murmured, “never why I started killing. Now that’s something interesting about you.”

“I’ve always been interested in the way the brain works. Why people do the things they do.” She sighed just a bit and finally glanced up at him. “I knew what I wanted to be in life when I was nine years old.”

“And what did you want to be?” Harry reached up and touched his bottom lip gently as he talked, the plush, pink skin moving slowly underneath his fingertip. He raised an eyebrow as if he was actually interested, but of course he already knew the answer to her question.

Kat cleared her throat and answered, “A psychologist. I really focused on abnormal and personality psychology.”

“Hmm.. and that means....?”

“Basically, abnormal psychology studies unusual behaviors a person might have, and personality psychology looks at what characteristics a person may have that forces them to think and feel a certain way.”

Harry let out a small laugh and sat back against the couch again. “Well aren’t you just something. How long did you study?”

She started to answer but then shook her head. “Why are you asking me all this? You already know.”

“Honestly?” Kat nodded a tad as Harry leaned back towards her. “Because I really enjoy listening to you talk,” he whispered lowly. The answer was not meant to be sensual in any way, but his words went straight through her body, causing her heart to pound a little harder. She closed her eyes for a moment eliciting a low chuckle from Harry. “So. How long did you study?” 

She cleared her throat nervously. “Only about a year.” Harry sat silently, mulling over the information. He was creating a timeline in his mind of her life, picking and pulling apart the material she was slowly giving to him and putting it all together to create her life story. Just like Kat, he was more interested in knowing why. Harry knew just about every little piece of her story, but he didn’t know why half of these things occurred.

“Tell me something.” Kat peeked up at him. His fingers were tracing over his bottom lip again, which Kat realized must have been an indicator for when he was concentrating hard on something. “Why would a girl with everything drop all of her studies and move 4,000 miles away for no obvious reason?” Kat’s gaze dropped from his as she sat silently. She couldn’t take staring into those eyes much longer. “Come on. Give me that, at least.” 

A sigh slipped from her lips while she settled herself, trying to stall this conversation as much as she could. When she finally spoke, she considered each word very carefully before saying them. “There was a.. situation,” she started, her voice low, “that caused me to have to come here. I can’t say I chose to come here. I would have much rather stayed and got my degree, but here I am three years later.”

“You probably won’t tell me what happened, will you?” he asked. She shook her head as he laughed. “Figured that much. Well then, why are you still here?”

Kat shrugged. “The situation was never resolved. Still isn’t.” Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, just enough for Kat to notice. “What?” She turned her glance back up towards him.

“It’s just,” he said, taking just a moment to laugh softly, “I’m used to knowing every detail about a target.”

“And now that you don’t, it bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Only a little.” She breathed out a low laugh, which was cut off quickly by a sudden realization.

“How did you do that?” she asked as her eyes went wide. He raised an eyebrow curiously. 

“Do what?”

“Turn the whole conversation around like that.”

A smile was plastered on his lips as he stood up from the couch and stretched. Kat couldn’t help but catch the way his skin moved over his muscles, stretching and contracting with his every move. “Just one of my talents, I guess.” His response snapped her out of the trance she was in. She pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking the whole situation over. “Don’t hurt yourself, princess.” She shot him a quick glare prompting a laugh to bubble over his lips. 

Rolling her eyes, Kat leaned forward to grab the empty plate, but hissed when she moved the wrong way, causing the wound on her torso to stretch painfully. “Dammit,” she murmured, sitting back to hold her hand on her stomach. His face twitched a tad with a strange emotion, but he quickly turned away and walked into the kitchen, not allowing Kat to place whatever it was that she noticed. 

With a small grunt of pain, she pushed herself from the couch and stood up, grabbing her dish and empty water bottle. When she walked into the kitchen, Harry was standing with his back towards the door. His hands were pressed against the countertop as his head hung low. She stood in the doorway, not sure whether she was supposed to intrude on this moment or if she should turn and pretend she didn’t see anything. 

In the end, she just stood there awkwardly, an empty plate in one hand and a plastic bottle in the other, watching him in silence. After a moment, Harry let out an almost inaudible sigh. His shoulders slumped a little farther forward as the breath was released and he raised one of his hands to rake through his messy curls in frustration. Finally, Kat cleared her throat and stepped farther into the kitchen, glancing away from him.

He immediately pushed away from the counter and spun around towards her. “What are you doing?” he asked, his tone a bit higher pitched than normal. She held up the dish as she placed it into the sink. 

“I was just cleaning up my mess,” she answered softly. Kat tossed the bottle into the trash and turned to walk out of the room.

Silence returned to the apartment for the remainder of the day. Harry’s odd behavior didn’t ease up, though. He seemed a bit too happy for his own good, and it alarmed Kat the slightest bit. Everything had been off; the conversations, behavior, and actions had just been _weird_. 

But Harry wasn’t going to divulge the reasoning behind it, and Kat wasn’t going to ask. She laid down in the bed sometime around midnight, right after Harry checked her wounds like normal. It had gotten easier for her to fall asleep, oddly enough. The nightmares hadn’t reared their ugly heads for the past few nights and the sleep she was getting was as comfortable of a night’s rest as one can get when in a situation like that.

She had been sleeping through the night with ease, but like everything else that day, something about that was off as well.

Kat opened her eyes slowly, peering into the darkness. It was obviously early morning, maybe around three, she decided. She sat up just a bit and looked around. “Harry?” she whispered. She appeared to be alone in the apartment, which was odd. He never left her alone. No response came from her call. After a few moments of sitting in the silence, she pushed herself from the bed and began padding around the room. “Harry?” she called again, only slightly louder. 

She was completely alone. He was nowhere in that apartment. Rain fell in sheets outside the window, hard enough for her to hear the lonely noise in the apartment. She walked over to the boarded up window and peered out of one of the small cracks in the boards, taking a quick breath. Her mind was racing. She had the chance to run now, but would she take it? 

Kat turned away from the window and stared at the door.

Of course she would.

She had to hurry. He would be back soon from wherever he had went and if he found her trying to escape, she was sure it would be her last strike. She threw a glance over towards the closet where her shoes sat, but disregarded them. The clock was ticking, and she couldn’t waste any time. Before she could talk herself out of it, she made a break for the door, barefoot and vulnerable to the conditions outside.

She didn’t care. She was finally getting out of this hellhole. Her will to live right then was stronger than her curiosity about his life.

For once, she actually had a chance to make it. The other times, he had control. Harry was ten times as strong as her, and if she had to fight him, of course she wouldn’t have a chance, as was obvious from her other attempts to break free. But this time, no one stood in her way.

She rushed to open the locks on the door, which was the only thing holding her back from escaping the apartment. Finally, she unlocked the deadbolt and unhinged the chain. She had never gotten this far before, and the thought made her heart race. Was this just a test? Was he trying to draw her into his trap and give him a reason to finally kill her?

It was a risk she had to take.

Before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, the door was open and she was running down the hallway. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps as she sprinted towards the stairwell at the end of the dilapidated hallway. She was going to make it. She was going to get to go back to her normal life.

She threw open the door to the stairs. Her feet carried her down the stairs, skipping two at a time. Two more flights and she would be out. Two.

Her heart sped up with every step she took. She finished the first flight of stairs and started on the next. One.

She was about halfway down the second flight of stairs when she heard a noise that stopped her dead in her tracks and made her heart fall to her stomach. The door at the bottom of the stairs had opened.

Kat stood deathly still, one foot on one step, the other hovering over the one below it. Her breathing halted in her throat. Someone was starting to climb the first flight of stairs. The steps got louder and louder and before long, she would be face to face with the intruder. It was Harry. She just knew it. He would see her standing on those stairs and he would smirk, knowing he had caught her. That would be the end of her. She would be dead before she could turn and run.

But that didn’t stop her from trying. She turned on her heel and started dashing back up the stairs she had just descended as quietly as she could. The second flight was cleared. She had one more set before she got to his hallway. 

She was breathing harder and harder, her lungs aching. She didn’t know if she could make it. Her legs were cramping underneath her and it was getting tougher to get in enough oxygen to keep her going. But she couldn’t let him win. Not like this.

She finally reached the last flight of stairs and rushed up them. One more step and she was at the door. Just one more.

Her leg lifted to propel her past the top step, and suddenly seized up underneath her. The toe of her shoe hit the lip of the concrete stair and she was falling fast towards the landing in front of the door.

She tried to push herself up but her body refused, aching and defeated. It seemed to be asking the question that her mind had tried so hard not to pick up on. What was the use?

Tears pricked her eyes. It was over. It was all over. He was starting up the second flight of stairs. Once he topped the landing, he only had to spring up that final set of steps and he would have her. He wouldn’t give her another chance. She had already tested the waters too many times. This was it.

Kat sat up slowly and stared down towards where Harry would be coming from. She pushed herself backwards with her hands, her legs aching underneath her. She pushed as far as she could until her back was up against the concrete wall behind her. All she had to do now was wait to see those deathly dark eyes focus in on her.

A voice echoed up the stairs. “Did you hear that?” the voice asked as the footsteps stopped for just a moment. She hadn’t heard this voice before.

Harry wasn’t about to find her, because Harry wasn’t coming up those stairs.

“Yeah, I did,” another voice replied. Both of the voices belong to men. A lump bubbled up in her throat. She was going to be saved. If she could just force herself to stand, she could run to these men and they would take her out of there. 

Gradually, she pushed herself up and started to weakly step towards the stairs again, until the first voice spoke again. “Come on. Let’s go finish this bitch off.”

All of her hope seeped away in front of her. It was then that she realized Harry wasn’t the only person in this world who was out for her blood.


	15. Chapter 15

Kat’s eyes left the journal for just a moment as the train slowed near a station. This wasn’t her stop, she realized before glancing around at the people filling in the seats that had just been released. A few of them caught her eyes, but none of them held her stare for longer than a split second before looking away uncomfortably.

Before her ordeal, when she was naïve about almost everything that the “big bad world” could offer, she would have questioned why. She would have asked herself why these people refused to make eye contact with her, choosing instead to let their gaze fall to their feet nervously.

But after everything, the answer was painfully obvious.

People didn’t like to be confronted with emptiness.

Everyone wants so badly to believe that life is full of nothing but rainbows and happy endings, that when they meet someone with eyes as empty as hers, it uncomfortably forces them to look at the truth.

The truth was that when you have everything you’ve ever known torn away from you, emptiness is all you’re left with.

As the train shuttered back to life and began to roll forward, Kat took to writing again.

_I was terrified. I don’t know if I can describe it any other way. I was flat out petrified because I knew this was it. If Harry didn’t kill me, there were obviously people who would do it for him. People who sounded excited about doing it._

_People that got almost excited as he did when he talked about it._

_Almost every thought at that moment escaped me. Every thought about the aching wounds that covered my body. Every thought about my family back home and Mark. Every thought about Harry, what got him to this point, why he did what he did, why he chose me._

_The only thought in my head was getting away from whoever it was coming up those stairs. I wasn’t going to be somebody else’s toy. Not again._

After just a moment of processing what was happening, she was running again. She frantically opened up the door to the hallway and rushed towards Harry’s door at the end of the long corridor. She was inside the apartment before the men topped the stairs. The door closed behind her, and she locked it before taking a quick breath.

She knew she had to find somewhere to hide, and quick. She could hear the men’s voices carrying into the hallway. There were only a few seconds to spare. Her eyes anxiously scanned the room, falling upon the bathroom. “The linen closet,” she whispered, forcing herself forward. 

Kat closed the bathroom door behind her quickly and reached for the lock. “Fuck!” she exclaimed when her hand skimmed over nothing but wood. _“No lock,”_ she reminded herself.

She shook her head and quickly threw open the closet door. It was deeper than it was wide, with a few shelves starting about halfway up inside. She pulled out the towels at the bottom of the closet and forced herself into the bottom part of it. It was a tight fit, but she had no other choice. She placed the towels back in front of her after she huddled her knees to her chest, wincing as the wounds protested in pain. The towels created a wall between her and the door, and if someone was to open up the closet, it gave her a better chance of being hidden.

Kat closed her eyes and started trying to slow her breathing. _“Calm down,”_ she begged herself silently. _“Just slow your breathing. Deep breath in through the nose. Out through the mouth. In, out. In, out.”_

Panic attack relief steps ran through her mind. She had learned them from Mark on one of her visits to see him, and she studied the technique more during her time in psychology. It seemed to work well enough. _“Think calm. Close your eyes. Imagine you’re somewhere else. On a beach at sunset. That’s where you’re at. No one else around. Just you, a cold drink, and Carroll poetry.”_ She put herself in her personal mind-place and desperately tried to relax for a few more moments. Her breathing finally slowed down as she pictured herself there. It wasn’t until she heard the front door slam open that she forced herself out of it.

“Where is she?!” one of the men yelled. Sounds of glass shattering and stuff being thrown around came from the living room. She flinched when she heard something slam against the bathroom door and smash into pieces. “The bathroom. Check the bathroom.”

Kat opened her eyes quickly, a breath getting stuck in her throat. “No,” she pled silently. Her fingertips dug into her legs hard enough to leave marks. She heard heavy footsteps nearing the door before it was slowly pushed open. He was going to find her. He would open that closet door and rummage through it and find her. It was only a matter of time. 

Kat stayed as silent as she could. She barely even breathed. She couldn’t risk making any sort of noise.

The footsteps entered the bathroom slowly. “Anything?” one of them asked. The other stayed quiet as he walked around the bathroom. 

Suddenly, a cracking noise exploded through the small room. “Dammit!” the man yelled. Glass shards splintered and fell from the mirror in the bathroom onto the counter. 

“Josh, what the hell?” The other man rushed in to him. “You’ve left blood, you dumb shit.”

“She’s not here! She was supposed to be here!” he yelled, storming back into the living room. “You saw him! We both saw him leave!”

“Maybe... I don’t know. Maybe he killed her already?”

“He didn’t kill her! You don’t understand!” 

The other guy let out a sigh. “I don’t know, man. Maybe she got away. He had left her alone here.” 

Something slammed against the floor as Josh let out a frustrated yell. “I’ll get her. I will fucking get her. You just watch and see.” Kat heard a few more footsteps followed by silence. Were they gone? She couldn’t risk it. 

She sat as still as possible in that closet for what seemed like an eternity. Her heart finally returned to a normal speed, and her body stopped shaking eventually. After a while, she leaned her head over onto the stack of towels.

About an hour passed before Kat heard anything else. She jerked her head up when she heard the front door creak a little. The first thought in her mind was that the men had returned to finish what they started. “What the hell...” a voice whispered. 

_“Harry,”_ she thought, her heart jumping. She never imagined ever being happy to hear his voice, but here she was, aching to jump out and embrace him and thank him for coming back. Even though she was happy he was back, she didn’t dare move. She wasn’t sure if the men were still in the apartment or not. 

“Kat?” Harry called out. “Kat, where are you?!” The panic in his voice rose. She heard him shuffle through the room, searching for her. His desk drawer was opened, and after rummaging in the false bottom for a moment, he shut it back. Finally, he hurried into the bathroom. 

He walked around the small space for just a few moments, pacing back and forth, his boots tapping against the tile. Abruptly, he stopped walking, right in front of the closet. Everything was still for a moment, but then the knob twisted and light took the place of the dark that enclosed her. “Kat?” he breathed. Kat sat perfectly still and she wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or pain of hearing him sound so vulnerable. Harry kneeled down, slowly placing his hands on the towels, and moved them away. “Oh my God, Kat,” he exhaled before grabbing her arms and hauling her out of the small opening. “Are you okay? What happened? Did you do this?” Question after question flowed from his mouth, not giving her any chance to answer a single one. “Fuck, you’re okay.” 

Before Harry could ask anything else, Kat threw her arms around him and clenched her eyes closed. It wasn’t an affectionate hug. It was more of a “thank god you’re here” hug. “I thought I was going to die,” she cried out into his chest. “I thought they were going to come back!”

Harry stiffened in her arms. He stood statue still and cleared his throat. “What are you doing?” 

Kat froze. She hadn’t really thought about it. She just knew she felt a flood of relief when she saw him standing there and acted on it without a thought. “I... uhm, sorry.” She pulled away from him and looked up towards his face.

“Do you care to tell me what the hell happened to my apartment?” He cocked an eyebrow up as she glanced around the bathroom. The mirror was shattered from a focal point that had blood covering it from where the man punched it. Slowly, Kat pushed past Harry and walked out into the living room.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, her eyes trailing around the ransacked apartment. The whole place had been completely torn to pieces. Glass shards from Harry’s plates and glasses covered the kitchen floor, papers were strewn everywhere, and Harry’s large bookshelf had been tipped over, cracking the back of it. The sheets were stripped from the bed and the mattress was flipped from the frame. The television set was smashed. It was a total mess. 

“Kat, you need to tell me what happened.” Kat turned, her eyes narrowing on the boy.

“No, I think you need to tell me what’s going on.” After what she had been through, Harry was the least of her worries at the moment. He stared at her for a few moments before tilting his head slightly to the right and smirking.

“Did your experience give you some sort of bravery?”

“Shut up,” she hissed, walking towards him. “Two guys came here, looking for me. They knew you. They were going to kill me, Harry. Why is that?”

All the humor drained from his face. “Two guys? What did they look like?”

“Do you really think I got a good look at them?! The only thing I saw was the inside of that damn closet!”

“Good thinking, by the way,” he affirmed, looking around the room mindlessly. 

Kat let out a sarcastic laugh. “Gee thanks. But for real. I think you owe me an explanation.”

“I don’t owe you anything. There’s nothing else you need to know. You know too much as it is.”

“I don’t care what I know already,” she hissed, jabbing a finger in his direction. He eyed the finger for a few seconds, seemingly amused, but allowed her to continue. “But now that it’s not just _you_ out here trying to kill me, I’d like to know what the hell I did for this to happen.”

She didn’t think about it before she spewed her venom at him. Her life was put on the line yet again, and this time, even though it wasn’t technically by Harry, it was because of him.

He sighed just a bit and brought his finger to his bottom lip, like always. “Yeah, okay.” The look that took over his features proved the words were easier said than done. It was obvious he wasn’t sure how to breach the topic, but Kat wasn’t going to let this go. She decided that if he was going to be risking her life so often, she might as well know the details of the situation. It seemed to be common courtesy. 

However, his answer surprised her. It came easier than she expected, so she sputtered, “Okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded, sounding surer of himself. 

After taking a deep breath, Harry moved farther into the living room, flipping the mattress back onto the frame. It was the only item in the apartment that now looking semi-normal, leaving everything else in complete shambles. However, Kat wasn’t focusing on that. She needed answers and was determined not to allow him to skirt around this topic. “Sit,” he ordered, motioning to the mattress. 

She did as she was told and padded past him, careful to avoid the trash covering the floor the best she could. It was seemingly impossible, though. The hardwood was barely visible underneath the layer of papers, books, and glass that had been strewn from all over the apartment. Kat finally took her place on the bed and waited for Harry.

He stood a few steps away from her, his head tilted back and eyes shut. His face was drawn more than usual. He was frustrated, obviously, but underneath the frustration was something else. It was something that only appeared in a flash for a mere second, and it was gone. He hid it wonderfully, but not well enough to where Kat didn’t notice it.

If she had to guess, she would have said it was worry. Uncertainty. And although she wasn’t sure why, Kat knew in an instant that this just got a lot more difficult.

Harry took a long breath in, his chest expanding before he exhaled it just as slowly as he inhaled. Kat could practically see the options running through his mind as he tried to figure out how to start this conversation. Finally, he decided on, “London has a lot of secrets.”

When Harry didn’t continue, Kat pressed, “What sort of secrets?”

“Secrets that would make you want to turn and run and never look back.” She couldn’t be sure, be she could have sworn she heard him mumbled, “Which you should have already done.” Before she could jump on his comment, Harry scraped a hand through his hair and sighed. “In the time that we’ve been doing this, there was only one other time that the target wasn’t killed. I mean, I’m sure there were other times, but none that we know about.”

“We?” Kat croaked out, the words hanging in her throat. She swallowed hard. “What do you mean _we_?”

Harry huffed out a sour laugh. “You don’t really think I’m the only one doing this, do you?”

She shook her head as her eyebrows scrunched together. “No, I guess not. And he was one of them, right? The guy who broke in?”

“Yeah,” he exhaled, nodding. “Josh.”

Kat wasn’t sure how to ask her next question. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but she figured if he was up to telling her, it was something she probably should know. A few seconds later, after collecting her thoughts, she spoke quietly. “Just how many of you are there?”

Her eyes lifted towards the boy standing in front of her, whose stare were casted down towards his feet. She didn’t think he was going to answer, but then, after swallowing and raising his gaze to her, his answer came out in a tight voice. “Too many.” When she opened her mouth to ask him to elaborate, Harry must have read her mind because he shook his head and scowled. “I don’t know how many. I just know this group has been around for longer than I’ve been alive. They’ve branched out from London to so many different places, so there’s no way for me to know exact numbers.”

As he spoke, Harry trudged over to the bed and sat down, rubbing his forehead over his right eyebrow. His eyes were clenched tight and his lips were pressed into a hard line. After a few silent moments, he sighed, “They came looking for you because you’re not dead.”

“But why do they care?” she asked, her face still muddled with confusion.

“That’s a long story that I really don’t have time to explain.” His hand dropped from his face as he looked at her. “In short,” he continued, “it runs the risk of exposing the group. It gave Josh a reason to focus more on you, as if he needed one.”

“Wha-”

“He’s obsessive, Kat,” he cut in, his eyes boring into hers. “I may be bad, but _fuck_ , he’s a hundred times worse. When he sees something he wants, he will do whatever it takes to get it. And if I hadn’t,” he cringed, “ _claimed_ you first, you would have been his. And now that he knows you’re still breathing, he will stop at nothing to take over. I’ve had my chance. He’s taking it into his hands now.”

She took a small breath in and looked down at her lap. “So what you’re saying,” she replied quietly, “is that I’m completely screwed.”

The expected answer was maybe a laugh and an agreement. Something snarky about how she should get to running now, and that maybe she should have left when she had the chance. Instead, Harry sat silently after dropping his gaze. When he didn’t answer right away, Kat looked over towards him. Finally, he spoke up. “I’m going to make some phone calls and get this straightened out.” She didn’t have a chance to reply before he pushed himself off of the bed and scanned the apartment. “Now can we please get this place in order? It’s a fucking mess.”

So instead of fighting it like she wanted to, she simply nodded and helped him pick the apartment up. Kat focused on the trash that covered the floor while Harry cleaned up the bigger items, like the bookshelf, and the ripped up couch. After an hour, Kat found herself dragging around the floor, picking up the last bits of paper and tossing them into the trash can. Harry rounded the kitchen corner with a broom in hand.

He almost walked past her, eyeing some shards of glass on the other side of the room, but stopped when he saw how her eyes were drooping. “They woke you up didn’t they?” he asked, leaning the broom against the wall. 

Kat stifled a yawn, reaching up to cover her mouth. “I’m fine,” she sighed as she tried to grab the broom. He snatched it away before she could take it.

“Get in bed.”

“The sun’s coming up.” She sighed again as she glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’ve been through a lot tonight,” he said slowly. “Get in bed.” She started to protest, but when he snarled slightly, she rolled her eyes.

She wasn’t happy about it, but she couldn’t complain once she laid down on the mattress. Harry threw the blanket that had found its way to the other side of the room towards her, allowing her to cocoon herself in its warmth.

Harry, however, didn’t allow himself to rest, at least not while she was awake. He swept up the spot he had seen, as well as the rest of the floor, before moving over to his television set. A string of curse words fell from his mouth as he slapped a hand against it. His routine was completely ruined now, as well as everything else residing in that apartment.

_What was funny about the situation was that I actually felt bad about it. I felt bad for being the reason Harry’s apartment was torn apart. How messed up is that? He tries to kill me, and I feel bad that his T.V. got destroyed._

_As I was watching him that night though, I couldn’t help but notice how different everything was. It wasn’t just his routine and lifestyle that I had mucked up. He was different too. He was normally so calm and methodical, but that night, he seemed off and out of it, sort of like he was in his own world. It reminded me of when I watched him one of the first nights when he was sitting on the couch, zoning in and out as he watched television._

_Only this time, he didn’t have the television to focus on. Without a distraction, the worry was clear on his face, and if I’m being honest, it scared me._

_When Harry worried, I knew it was something I should be worried about. I learned that quickly. And he was clearly very bothered with that situation._

_It didn’t hit me right then just how worried I should have been._

_However, I learned that quickly, too._


	16. Chapter 16

The next day, Kat woke up to a different routine. Harry wasn’t sitting on the couch when she rose. He didn’t have a cup of tea, and he sure as hell didn’t look peaceful and poised. He looked absolutely panicked, but he hid it well. Even with the amount of training he had so delicately took part of, he couldn’t conceal it one hundred percent. It trickled through the cracks occasionally, allowing Kat to take a sneak peek. However, she didn’t like what she saw one bit.

Instead of the routine, Kat woke up to Harry tapping wildly at the keys on his laptop. “Come on,” he grumbled. Kat sat up on the mattress to get a better view. He had his back to her, but she could see clearly that he was attempting to get his laptop to work. The screen was busted, there were a few keys missing, and all in all, it really wasn’t looking good for the piece of technology.

He typed for a few moments, mumbling obscenities that Kat couldn’t quite make out under his breath. His keystrokes became increasingly louder as he typed harder and harder, until finally, he slammed his hand down on the keyboard. “Fuck!” he exclaimed, exasperated. She couldn’t help but flinch. Even though she had heard it a few times, Kat couldn’t get used to hearing Harry raise his voice.

Harry sat there stone still. She could see his hands flex into fists on the desk as he breathed heavily, his back rising and falling with every huff. After a few tense seconds, Kat shifted in the bed and swung her legs over the side. He turned his head just slightly. “Harry?” she called.

“What?” His voice came out harsh, but she didn’t let it get to her. 

Kat took a few steps towards where he was seated, careful not to move too fast and startle him. That was the last thing either of them needed right now. “Is everything okay?”

He breathed out a single laugh. “Is everything okay?” he repeated mockingly. “Is everything okay? No! Everything is not okay, Kat!” As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder until it was thundering around her. He spun around in his seat and locked eyes with the frozen girl standing in front of him.

Instead of shying away like her brain was urging her to do, she stood firm. Her heart was telling her that it wasn’t the Harry she knew sitting in front of her. It wasn’t the calculating killer that had stalked her for so long. It wasn’t the predator who had tried to take her life away from her. He was just a boy. A scared, panicking boy who didn’t know where to turn.

“Take a deep breath,” she instructed.

Harry’s eyes went wide. “What?” he exhaled, his jaw dropping.

“I said,” she started, taking another step towards him, “take a deep breath. In through your nose, and out through your mouth.”

“What the fuck are you on about?”

Kat sighed. “Harry, just do what I said.”

She was sure that the snarl on his face was going to wind up to be something permanent, but he did what he was told. Basically. He huffed in a quick breath and blew it out just as fast, not relaxing a bit.

“Harry,” she groaned. “Come on. Take a deep breath in _slowly_ , and exhale it _slowly_.” She annunciated each word carefully, trying to make sure he got the point.

With a roll of his eyes, Harry took in a breath, slightly slower this time, and let it out. When he finished, his face had softened a miniscule amount. “Do it again.” So he did. Three breaths later, and he looked well on his way to the composed Harry she knew so well.

Harry’s eyebrows creased just barely. “Hmm,” he hummed. “It worked.”

Kat shrugged and leaned her hip against his desk. “Did you doubt me?”

“Well, I usually don’t take advice from people I’ve tried to kill.”

“Anyways,” she continued, rolling her eyes, “why were you freaking out?”

Harry shoved away from his desk after slamming the laptop shut. “I wasn’t freaking out,” he grumbled. He skulked over towards the kitchen with Kat right at his heels. “Kat, seriously. Drop it.”

“I’m not saying anything.”

Suddenly, Harry stopped walking and spun around to face her. He was scowling, his lips turned into a sneer as he glared at her. “Then sit down. Stop following me.”

For a moment, Kat stood there, glaring right back at him. Neither offered to back down from their defensive stances. It seemed like a game; you crumble first, you lose.

Kat was the loser this time.

She finally exhaled a breath and took a step back from him, rolling her eyes once more. “And,” he growled, “if you roll those eyes one more time, I’ll make sure you’re not ever able to again.”

A threat like that would usually shake her, but she could tell in his eyes that he wasn’t being serious. He was bluffing. His voice wasn’t as strong as it was when he made a serious threat, and he looked away as he finished the sentence. This was another break in the wall that she was able to catch in a fleeting moment, proving to her that yes, he was human inside, as unbelievable as that may be.

Kat had to stop herself from rolling them out of habit. She caught herself halfway through the action, and glanced to him quickly. His eyebrows were raised as he waited, a look of warning taking over his features.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, frowning. 

He hauled in a breath and, with a shake of his head, exhaled, “Jesus Christ.” His eyes shut as he reached his hand to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. "You are absolutely mental. You know that?" 

Kat couldn't help but let a smile sneak through the forced frown on her lips. "So, care to tell me why you were losing your mind a few minutes ago?" 

"You're not going to let it alone, are you?"

"Nope." 

Harry sighed. "My computer," he answered simply. 

"Your computer?" 

"It's smashed. Ruined." 

"Did they break it?" 

He nodded. "Everything is gone. Completely vanished. All my information. All my work. Just... gone." 

"But you have your printed copies, right?" 

"Of course, but that's beside the point. I had stuff on there that I hadn't printed a copy of yet. New stuff. And it's all gone. " 

Suddenly, Kat was hit with revelation. "New victim stuff, right?" she asked quietly, dropping her gaze. 

"Yeah, of course.” He answered it like it was an everyday question about some boring topic, not about women that he had murdered. 

A question was dancing on the tip of Kat’s tongue the moment he finished talking. She wanted to ask, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear the answer. In reality, she already had her answer. She just prayed she wasn’t right. Finally, Kat decided to get it over with. It was better to rip the band aid off than to worry about it any longer than needed. "What happened to the other girl? The one who worked at the cafe." 

Harry stood there for a moment, not able to take his eyes off her. Momentarily, he looked confused, torn even. He looked like he was fighting the urge to go into detail about what he done, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, for some reason. Instead, he answered lowly, "Kat, I think you know what happened." 

Kat shut her eyes tight and took in a long breath. "I figured.” 

The words hung around the two for longer than they should, filling the silence of the air heavily. Neither one of them spoke. Kat wanted to ask him why. Why did he have to pin this one on her? Why did he have to tell her _she_ was the reason he found this girl. She knew it was a torture technique, and it was working _too_ well. 

Harry was the one who broke the silence. "Listen," he started, dragging his hand through his messy hair. The curls looked slightly damp, as if he had showered while she was sleeping. She had no idea what he did during that time. She knew he had to rest at some time, so that was a very likely possibility. In the back of her mind though, she wondered how many times he had went out in search for his next victim while she was asleep. “I have some things I have to take care of this evening.” 

"What sort of things?" Kat asked.

"Just things," he spoke firmly. The tone of his voice told her that he wasn’t budging on his decision to keep it to himself. He followed that with a quick question, trying to move the conversation right along. “Hungry?”

“Uh,” she shrugged, “a little, I guess.”

“Good. I’m starving.” Harry turned away from the girl and padded into the kitchen, Kat trailing close behind. “Anything in particular that you want?” He stepped in front of the fridge and hauled open the door to peer inside.

Kat stopped mid-step on the cold tile and stared at him. He was asking her for her opinion, something he had never done before. It took her by surprise. He wasn’t much for doing anything that wasn’t his idea, but he was now asking for her choice.

When she didn’t reply, Harry peeked over the top of the fridge door. “Did you hear me?”

“I- I’ll just take whatever you’re having,” she finally stammered. Harry nodded once before leaning back into the fridge and pulling out a few items. He took a carton of eggs over to the counter and dug through his cabinet for a frying pan and spatula.

“So,” he glanced over his shoulder at her as she walked closer to him, “how did you learn to do that?”

“Do what?”

“The breathing thing. Whatever that was.”

It took Kat a second before she understood what he was talking about. “Oh!” She smiled slightly and leaned against the counter to watch him as he grabbed an egg from the carton. “The breathing technique.”

Harry paused for a second just as he was about to crack the egg against the pan. “Yeah, that.”

“You already know. I studied psychology in college.”

“It’s more than that.” Harry quickly cracked a few more eggs into the pan before taking the shells and tossing them into the trash. “Stir those for me,” he instructed as he walked over to the sink. He turned the water on and began to wash his hands underneath it.

Kat did as she was told, taking the spatula and scrambling the eggs. Harry returned a few seconds later after drying his hands off. Taking the utensil from her, he took over. “Thanks,” he smiled.

A smile is usually offered as a sincere, comforting gesture, but Kat was far from comforted. Harry’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a simple, mechanical action, forced and practiced. It didn’t come off as one of his smooth, natural movements. It was laced with insecurity, something that it seemed Harry didn’t have any of. But it was there, and it was blaringly apparent.

“So, where’d you learn it?” he pressed.

Kat leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. She had a choice to make. Usually, her brother was something she kept to herself. Her little secret. It was something that she kept locked up in the back of her mind, not something that she just spilt out for everyone to see.

But, she took a deep breath, and replied, “Had to practice it a lot with my brother.”

Harry froze. “Your brother?”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “My older brother, Mark.”

“Why did you have to practice it with your brother?”

Here it was. This was the moment she was waiting for; the moment where she would divulge the information and most people would drop their gaze and stammer something about being sorry. She braced herself for the apology that would flow from his mouth. “Mark had a mental illness,” Kat explained, dropping her arms to her side. She fixed her eyes on the pan of eggs that were almost finished cooking and refused to look anywhere else. “We had to do breathing techniques with him when he would get overwhelmed.”

For a moment, she half expected him to laugh in her face. The look on his features edged a hint of surprise, but then turned back to serious. “He had a mental illness?” he asked as he pulled two plates from the cabinet. He quickly scooped some egg onto each plate before turning to the toaster.

“He did,” she affirmed. Harry quickly popped two pieces of bread into the appliance and pushed the button down.

It was silent for the most part, the only sound coming from Harry taking the pan to the sink to wash out. When he glanced over his shoulder at her, she realized he was waiting for her to continue. In her mind, she had already told him all he needed to know, but he didn’t seem to think so. “And?” 

Kat gave a shrug while watching Harry pick two forks from a drawer to place on each of the plates. “And that’s it.”

“What do you mean that’s it?”

“I mean, that’s it. My brother had schizophrenia growing up. Not much more to tell,” she lied. There was _so_ much more to tell. None of which she was willing to talk about at that point. Especially not with Harry, of all people.

The way he was staring at her when she looked towards him threw her for a loop. She had seen Harry try to get information out of her just because he _could_ , but this was different. He was clearly interested in her answers, not trying to pry into her life and see how far he could get into the crevices. It wasn’t about the power he was gaining by seemingly earning her trust; it was about genuine curiosity.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, the bread popped from the toaster. Kat quickly plucked one of the slices from the slot and placed it on her plate, scurrying out of the kitchen.

She took a spot on the couch, Harry following close behind. His forehead was puckered in thought as he sat next to her. They ate in relative quiet, but the look never disappeared from Harry’s face. 

Once Harry had finished his food, he placed the empty plate on the scuffed up coffee table before glancing at the girl. “I didn’t know,” he spoke, looking more confused than anything.

Kat swallowed the bite of toast she had been working on before asking, “Didn’t know what?”

“I didn’t know about your brother.”

Kat scraped up the last bit of egg from her plate and popped it into her mouth. “Not a lot of people do,” she replied after downing it.

“Why is that?”

“Why don’t they know about him?” Kat looked towards Harry, who was staring at her intensely. He looked as if he were trying to piece together the world’s largest puzzle, but was missing the last piece. Everything else was so obvious and put together for him, except for this last missing piece, and it looked as if it sincerely bothered him more than he wanted to let on.

He nodded once, never looking away. A sigh fell from her lips and she leaned forward to place her plate alongside Harry’s. “Well,” she started, sitting back against the couch, “when you’re in the mental illness system, it’s like any other medical system. They have to follow a code of confidentiality. With mental illness, sometimes it can be a lot stricter. To the outside world... some of these people basically don’t exist.”

Kat cleared her throat, fighting back the familiar emotion that was starting to seep into her words. She didn’t need him to feel “sorry” for her like everyone else did. She wondered if he even was capable of that. Maybe it was best if he wasn’t.

Harry’s brow creased even more, so she continued her explanation, “It’s not just the code that makes them almost invisible either. I mean, mental illness is always looked down upon and locked away from the public’s eyes.” Kat felt herself starting to get worked up, but she couldn’t help it. This part of it all angered her so much and that was something that was never going away. “They’re locked away because they aren’t good enough. And God, there’s so many that most of them just get lost in the system and rot away and that’s just not fair. They lock up the ones that have done no wrong when there are truly sick people out there! People that should be put away for so much worse shit than what Mark was.”

She felt her face growing red hot, her whole body starting to react to the flow of words that were constantly streaming from her mouth. _This_ was why Kat didn’t like to talk about it. Her emotions were too deeply embedded in the topic that whenever she began to debate it, it became more of a one-sided argument than anything. But he had asked. He wanted to know. And she delivered.

The words settled around the two for a few seconds before Harry spoke softly. “People like me, right?” He wasn’t angry, or hurt even. It seemed to be more of a statement than an actual question. He knew it was true, and it didn’t seem to bother him. 

Kat’s eyes snapped up to him, her mouth dropping open. She hadn’t had a bit of trouble finding words just a few seconds ago, but now they failed her. She couldn’t speak. However, he didn’t give her a chance.

Right in front of her eyes, Harry transformed back into the menacing figure with the wicked smirk spread across his lips. “Good talk, princess.”

The rest of the day went by slowly and fairly uneventfully- aside from two more computer related breakdowns on Harry’s part. When night fell over the apartment, Kat was able to surprisingly find sleep fairly easily. She felt a strange sense of comfort with Harry’s figure sitting in the shadows only a bit away from her. For some reason, in the back of her mind, she had decided that Harry wouldn’t let the other guys get to her. Maybe it was because he actually had some morality deep within him, or maybe it was simply because he wanted to be the one that done the job. Whatever it was though, it helped her fall asleep, and she didn’t question it.

A few hours later, Kat awoke to the sound of the apartment door slamming shut, and the quick fumbling of the metal chain lock being put into place. She blinked a few times, trying to shake the sleep from her mind. She finally pushed herself up in bed and stared at the figure rushing around the room. “Harry?” she mumbled as she reached up to wipe her eyes.

Harry tossed a few items onto the couch as Kat tried to focus on him. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness just enough for her to make out the items he had dropped.

They were clothes. Her clothes from her apartment. On top of them laid a book, a familiar name scrawled in the top. Lewis Carroll. It was the book Kat had purchased before everything happened.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Harry cut her off. “Kat, listen to me.” His tone was low and rushed. Obviously, he was concerned about something, but Kat wasn’t sure what. He rushed to the side of the bed and leaned over in front of her, placing his hands on his shoulders. “I need you to listen closely, okay?” She nodded.

“What’s going-”

Harry cut her off before she could finish. “First thing’s first. No questions. Just listen to what I have to say.” He paused for just a moment, making sure she understood. When she didn’t argue, he continued. “I need you to get up and start packing stuff. I’ll get you a duffle bag. Throw in whatever clothes you can, especially my t-shirts, boxers, shorts, whatever. Stuff that’s going to fit you too. Can you do that for me?” She opened her mouth to speak but gave him a nod instead. “Good girl,” he mumbled, reaching up to give her hair a quick ruffle before turning away and rushing around again. He hurried over to the side closet and soon had pulled out a brown over the shoulder duffle bag, tossing it to her.

Kat quickly hopped out of the bed as Harry mumbled to himself, “A hoodie. Need to get you a hoodie to hide your hair.”

She watched him as he pawed through the closet. Question upon question were forming on her lips. Where had he been? What had happened to make him need to flee the apartment in such a rush? Why did she have to hide? These questions kept bouncing around in her head, but she kept herself from asking, knowing he was very serious about this. Instead of interrogating him, she done as she was told. 

Harry pulled a black jacket from inside his closest and tossed it to her. “I stopped at your apartment to see if I could salvage anything.”

“Salv-”

“There wasn’t much,” he continued. “I grabbed you some underclothes and,” he paused for only a second to glance at the book, “I found that. Thought you may have wanted it. Now please, hurry up.”

As she grabbed the items from the couch, she took a moment to watch him. He was gathering up folders from the false bottom in one of his locked drawers of the desk pushed against the far wall. Kat grabbed some boxers from the top drawer of the desk before glancing at him again. 

Harry stared at the folders momentarily as Kat pulled t-shirts from a different drawer. He moved over towards her at the same time she started to tuck the clothes into the bag he had provided. In an instant, the folders were dropped right in front of her.

“What are these?”

“Targets. Every one of them.” Kat glanced up at Harry quickly, and he was staring right at her. But, for one second his gaze dropped from her eyes. “You’re in there.”

She looked from the boy to the folders and back again before shaking her head. “Why are you giving me these?”

Harry sighed and tangled his hand into his mess of hair. “I saw the ‘research’ you were compiling,” he mumbled, using finger quotes. “Figured you may want to see which were mine.”

Kat reached down to lift the cover of one of the folders, but Harry slapped her hand away. “No time right now. Finish packing.”

Before she could protest, Harry had rushed away from her to grab his laptop. “Can I at least know what’s going on?” Kat asked as she tugged on the zipper of the bag.

Harry shoved his laptop into a messenger bag that sat next to his desk and hauled the bag’s strap over his shoulder. “Long story short, we have to get out of here. Get your shoes on.” As he spoke, he walked towards her and grabbed the bag she had packed. “Is that everything?”

Kat nodded, crossing over to the closet to grab her shoes from the floor. “Everything I could fit into it.” After slipping her feet into the shoes, she pulled the hoodie Harry had tossed to her over her body.

“Pull your hood on. Let’s go.” Harry turned on his heel quickly and started to walk towards the door.

“Wait!” Kat cried, yanking the hood over her head. She tucked her dark hair into it quickly before running up behind him. “Where in the world are we going?”

Harry stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Ever heard of Doncaster?”


	17. Chapter 17

The sun was just starting to rise as Kat and Harry finally reached the train station. The whole journey there, Harry had been constantly checking over his shoulders, searching for some unseen villain lurking in the shadows. It almost reminded Kat of her frantic state before she was taken, but it was clear that he was trying to control it a little better than she was able to.

“Ugh,” she groaned, reaching up to scratch her right cheek. She was careful to scratch below the cut that sat on her cheekbone, but the more it itched, the more she wanted to claw at it.

“What are you whining about?” Harry grumbled as they neared the ticket booth.

“This shit you caked on my face. It’s making my face itch!”

Harry sighed just a bit as he pulled out his wallet. “It’s to cover the wounds, okay? We can wipe it off as soon as we get to Louis’.” He had mentioned it was for the rare occasion that he got a wound from anything, covering any mark perfectly. What he didn’t plan on was having to use it on a target’s injuries.

Buying the tickets was an easy process, and when they were through the line, it was time for them to board the cab and find a seat. In the crowd, they blended in, looking like a couple in a rush to get to their unknown job location and get on with their day.

“I see that look,” Harry mumbled as they took their seats. Kat took a seat next to the window while Harry took the aisle seat, slipping one leg over the other.

Pulling the hood off of her head, she snapped her eyes towards him. “What look?”

Harry drew in a long breath, a smile toying at his lips. “You’re wondering how many other situations like this you’ve casted a blind eye to.” After a slow blink, Kat was still confused, so Harry continued. “Right now, you’re thinking about how easy we become part of the background. We’re their background, just kind of playing into their life. No real significance. And nobody ever notices those background characters.” He stopped for a breath, the smile becoming a full blown grin on his face. “It’s the best disguise you can have.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Says the person who spends their life living in people’s backgrounds.” Harry shrugged a shoulder as he laughed, his eyes shutting. 

“So. Our plan. I’ve got this friend that lives in a small town called Doncaster.”

“You have friends?” Kat teased, letting a smile slip from the façade she was trying to put on. She was becoming good at wearing the stoic mask around him, keeping her emotions somewhat in check. But there were those times where Harry was far too human, and she let herself slip. Harry opened his eyes and glanced down at the girl beside him. 

She swallowed hard, her smile instantly fading. “I do have friends,” he replied with a smirk. “Actually, Louis is my best friend. He and I go way back.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry just shrugged in reply, the grin on his face growing a tiny bit. “Come on. Tell me a secret. You know all mine.” 

He sat silent for a few moments as his brows scrunched together and he brought his finger up to his lip in thought. “Fine,” he finally said turning to stare at her. “I’ll tell you a secret. But you can’t make a huge deal out of it, okay?”

Kat leaned in closer to him, a blunt look on her face. “You’ve killed people. I think I can handle anything at this point.”

“Fine.” He paused for a small breath before continuing, “There was a point in my life where... well, I guess I just wasn’t as strong as I am now, and I went through some really shitty stuff. Louis took me in and was there for me until I was able to get out on my own again.”

She mulled over the information he had just spilled to her, but there was one thing she was confused about. “Why were you scared to tell me that?”

“It’s weakness,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I was weak. And to this day, I can’t stand to think back to then. It was awful feeling like that.”

“Feeling weak?” Harry nodded without a word. “Is that why you do what you do then?” she whispered, folding her hands over one another nervously.

Harry bit the inside of his jaw before speaking. “What do you mean?” His voice was low and hoarse, and it made her nervous.

“You just said you hate weakness. But what you do involves picking out other people’s weaknesses and praying on them.” Kat clenched her eyes shut, just knowing she had messed up. It was okay to talk about Kat’s feelings all they wanted, but as soon as the tables were turned, Harry either shut down or lashed out, or a mixture of both. But this time, he didn’t do either.

“If it wasn’t for this whole shit of a situation, you might have been a good psychologist.”

She stammered over her words. Was she supposed to say thank you? Or be upset? What was she supposed to feel? Sure, she may have been great at picking on everyone else’s feelings and emotions, but when it came to her own, she always fell short. “Um,” she cleared her throat, “thanks, I think.”

Shaking his head, Harry gave her a sigh. “You know, Lou always asks me if I regret what I do. I always tell him no.” 

“He knows what you do?”

“I always tell him no,” he said, cutting her off. “But you’re the closest to a yes that I’ve come across.”

Kat felt her heart jolt in her chest. Harry didn’t dare look over at her, but she wasn’t sure if she could look him in the eye even if he had. “What does that mean?”

“I think you can figure that out by yourself, princess.”

And then, it was silent. The only sound came from the consistent mumbling of the other passengers, still completely oblivious to everything that was happening on that train. Kat couldn’t help but envy them.

She wanted to be that oblivious again. She wanted to be able to pass people on the street and merely see _background_. Yet now, any person she passed by was an automatic suspect. They were suddenly someone out for her blood. It wasn’t a surprise either; when multiple people are searching for you, aching to drain you of your life, it’s a fairly normal fear.

Twenty minutes later, Kat was becoming restless. She never was a great traveler. She hated sitting for extended periods of time and she didn’t have the “traveler’s bladder” that her brother had been blessed with. Growing up, when they would take family car rides, Kat was always the one begging to stop at every rest stop along the way and Mark was the one picking on her constantly. She wouldn’t have traded those memories for anything, though.

Kat’s eyes darted to the back of the train quickly as she shifted in her seat. “You alright?” Harry murmured, side-eyeing her. 

“I just,” she laughed a little embarrassedly, “I need to use the restroom.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but cracked a smile. “Right to the back. On your left when you get to the back of the car.” Both of them stood from their seats, Harry allowing Kat to move in front of him before he sat back down. “Make it quick,” he called over his shoulder as he settled back in his seat.

Kat shuffled down the aisle, glancing every so often at the other passengers sitting along the way. None of them even made eye contact with her. For a second, she wondered if any of them could see past the makeup that sat heavy on her skin. Could they see the wounds? Was that why they wouldn’t look her in the eyes?

Or was it the non-physical wounds they saw? The ones that, instead of scarring the skin, scarred the soul, marring the beauty of the one pure thing people are born with in the world.

Kat quickly shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. They had no idea what she had been through, nor did they care. Finally, Kat reached the bathroom and let herself into the empty stall after fumbling with the knob for one second.

She entered the small space, locking the door behind her. Once hidden in the restroom, she took in a long breath and closed her eyes. It was all so much to take in. She hadn’t had a moment of rest to comprehend what exactly was going on.

Quickly, Kat used the facilities and found herself staring into the mirror above the sink. If she didn’t know she was looking into a mirror, she probably wouldn’t have recognized herself. Her eyes were tired and sunken in, and her skin was caked over with the makeup that Harry had dug out from a cabinet in the bathroom. It didn’t quite match up to pale skin, streaking over it in a shade that was only slightly darker, but still noticeable. With that, plus chapped, cracking lips and dead eyes, she looked nothing like herself. And it was all because of _him_.

She wanted to place most of the blame on herself, of course. That was Kat. If something went wrong, she would find a way to make it her fault. She could have left sooner. She could have bugged the police a little more. She could have, should have, but didn’t.

But, even on top of all that, it was still his fault, and nothing would steer her mind away from that. He had forced her into captivity, stripped her of her fairly normal lifestyle, and turned her into the beaten, broken down creature in the mirror.

Sure, it had only been a little over a week since he took her, but the change that had happened in that time was phenomenal. When you’re constantly wondering if you’re going to wake up the next morning, it takes a toll on your wellbeing, and Kat wasn’t immune to that.

It had been a week. Seven days. One hundred, sixty-eight hours. And the more she thought about it, the longer it seemed.

She combed her fingers through her hair, still staring at the reflection as a thought raced through her brain.

She was alone.

Kat was alone in a fairly public place with doors that could lead to her freedom. She knew for a fact that Harry didn’t have his weapon on him, and there was nothing he could do to stop her that wouldn’t result in someone calling the police on him. If she reacted in such a violent manner, someone on the train would _have_ to call the authorities to handle the situation... and that would mean Harry would be taken in for questioning. 

She could tell them everything, show them the injuries, prove to them that this monster had kidnapped her and made an attempt to take her life multiple times. All she would have to do would be cause a scene on the train in front of the numerous onlookers and get a large enough reaction out of them to make them worry even the slightest. The weakest whistleblower would crack and call, it was almost guaranteed. 

Kat took a deep breath and exited the bathroom, turning to face where her stalker sat. His back was turned towards her, as was every other passenger on the train. She could scream right now, start her chaos, be on her way. Her mouth began to open, a scream building up in her lungs, ready to tear from her throat. Just as she started to belt it out, she felt her throat clench in anticipation. The silence wasn’t broken yet. The murmuring of the train passengers carried on, not minding her one bit.

She couldn’t force the bubble past her lips, and honestly, she wasn’t sure why.

Here was her chance to remove herself from the situation completely. She had the opportunity to rid herself of the green eyes for life and to get back to whatever bit of normalcy she could. She could have ended it right then.

But she didn’t.

_Could have, should have, but didn’t._

Kat could blame it on fear. She could tell herself that she was scared the plan wouldn’t work out, and she would end up under Harry’s knife again. That was the most reasonable excuse.

Strangely enough though, she knew that wasn’t it.

Her feet began to move underneath her without her body willing them to, taking her back towards her seat. When she was halfway there, Harry glanced over his shoulder, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Was worried you had fallen in,” he chuckled as he stood to allow her to get back to her seat. She sank back into her spot, giving him a weak smile. It was then that she noticed what was sitting in his lap.

“What are you doing with those?” she asked, nodding her head towards the folders.

He shrugged. “Sorta thinking about letting you look at them now.” His gaze lifted towards her and focused. “I mean, if you’re up for it.”

Kat didn’t answer right away. She wasn’t exactly sure if she _was_ up for it. She knew for a fact that the faces in those folders belonged to girls who didn’t exist in this world anymore. The only thing that was left of them was sad memories in the hearts of their loved ones and this information.

Was it her place to look?

“Hey,” he sighed, yanking her from her thoughts, “I just thought you’d be interested. You don’t have to look.”

Kat glanced back up at him. “Give me.”

A while later, Kat closed the last folder with a small sigh, still staring at the front cover. What was she supposed to do with all this information? She had literally just looked through numerous files of information on almost every single one of his victims. All except one.

“Aren’t you going to finish?” Harry asked. Kat sat back in her seat before looking over at him.

“I don’t want to read about my life. Living it once is enough.”

“Aw, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Harry nudged her arm a tad with his elbow, a cheeky smirk spreading on his lips.

“Oh my god,” she grumbled, pushing the folders back into his lap. “You have no idea. My parents were awful.”

“Jan and Phil? Kat, you can’t be serious. They seem sweet.”

“Okay, first of all. That’s creepy.”

Harry laughed loud, earning a few looks from the strangers on the train. She made a look to tell him to quiet down, but he simply smiled in response. “What’s creepy?” he finally asked, lowering his voice just a tad. He leaned back into his seat and tilted his head back onto the head rest, looking down at her from the corner of his eyes.

Kat had to catch her breath before she continued speaking. When he looked at her like that, she forgot about everything that happened and focused on the piercing green eyes. Maybe he was some sort of sorcerer that captivated his unsuspecting victims with his gaze. Or maybe she was just crazy.

But then she remembered everything he had done to her that got them in this situation, and she was able to breathe again. She couldn’t let herself fall deeper into his trap than she already was. She didn’t know how far that trap led, and she sure as hell didn’t want to know.

“The fact that you know my parent’s names. Just... don’t.”

Harry gave her a small smirk and leaned his head down towards her. “Fine. I’ll stop. Better, princess?”

“Not really,” she mumbled, losing her breath again. Harry laughed once more, low and deep in his chest as he turned his head back and closed his eyes.

The rest of the train ride was silent. Kat wanted to keep asking Harry about his life before everything happened, but again, she had to restrain herself. She didn’t want to risk anything. So she sat there silently, staring at anything but the curly headed boy beside her. When the train finally pulled into the station, Harry pushed himself from his seat and grabbed their overhead luggage after Kat moved out of the way. “How are we getting to Louis’ house?” she asked as she put the duffle bag’s strap over her shoulder.

Exiting the train, Kat glanced up at Harry, waiting for an answer. He was serious one moment, but as they stepped off the last step of the train, a grin broke out on his face. “Lou!” he yelled, stepping away quickly. Kat’s eyes followed him as he trotted over towards a man leaning against one of the brick columns in the station. The boy, who she could only assumed was Louis, pushed away from the column and met Harry halfway, extending his arms for a hug, which Harry graciously accepted. They embraced quickly, which Kat couldn’t help but smile at. She hadn’t seen Harry show this much emotion before, and it was a nice change.

Louis was much smaller than Harry, but as Kat walked over to them, she could tell that he was a force to be reckoned with. “You’ve got yourself into a shit load of trouble now, haven’t you, Curly?” He was a fast talking ball of energy, the complete opposite of the slow-drawling, intense boy in front of him. Louis pulled away from Harry and squinted towards Kat. “Is that her?” he whispered to Harry, glancing once at him before looking back at the girl. 

Clearing his throat, Harry nodded and turned towards Kat. So they had talked about Kat before. She was curious to know just how much Harry had told Louis about her. How much of this did he actually know? “Well, Kat,” he said after a moment of tying up the loose ends in his head, “it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

He walked over to Kat and pulled her into a tight hug without another word. She stood there awkwardly for just a moment, staring at Harry who just shook his head and chuckled. “Um,” Kat laughed, wrapping her arms around the boy, “you too.” After pulling apart, Louis stood in front of her, his eyes scanning her body. 

“Nothing like what I pictured, Harold.” He tossed the words over his shoulder teasingly with a smirk. “Prettier than your other ones, that’s for sure.” So he did know. 

Louis finally stepped away from Kat and turned back to Harry. “I told you, Lou.”

“Different, I know,” Louis moaned dramatically. “Anyways, back to the situation at hand. Let’s get out of here and get settled in at my place, sound good?” Harry gave him a nod and shifted the bag he was holding to his other hand. 

Kat followed the two boys out of the station and to the lot where Louis’ car was waiting for them. They loaded up the luggage and piled into the small car, Kat in the backseat with Louis and Harry in the front. “Traded in the Boxster?” Harry asked as the other boy started the car and pulled out on the road.

“I did, but I’ll get it back. Just borrowed this from Peter to come pick you two up. The Porsche only had two seats, and I didn’t really think Kat here would want to sit in your lap the whole way.” Harry laughed hard and glanced back at Kat.

“Is that true?” She felt her cheeks flush heavily. “Maybe you should have kept the Porsche,” Harry teased, looking back towards Louis with a smirk.

_It was weird how suddenly he could change. It was like in a snap, he was a different person. I wanted to blame it all of the fact that he was so good at what he done, that he found it easy to switch between the many characters he had in his head. I found out later that I was wrong about that._

_At first, it so hard to believe that someone like Harry could have relationships, real friends. But even someone like Harry, someone who had pretended for the majority of his life, someone who had put on the biggest, most elaborate lie of anyone I had ever met, couldn’t act that well._

_He was a completely different person around Louis, and it wasn’t acting._

_People could say that it was just another well-played character in his little game, but I know different. That Harry was the real Harry, as hard as it was to comprehend. I know that for a fact, and I will never, ever be swayed to think otherwise._

_I only know this because I was only other person he ever acted that way around._


	18. Chapter 18

They pulled into Louis’ driveway after just a short drive. Louis lived in a modestly sized house, just the right size for a bachelor on his own, but big enough to show that he had money to spare. The group got out of the car and the boys started to unpack the luggage. “Here, unlock the door,” Louis said to Kat, holding out his keys to her. “We’ll handle all this.” Kat took the keys and let herself in through the front door, leaving it open for the two guys.

She started to look around the space, trying not to seem too nosy right away. Of course she was, though. The first thing that was obvious to Kat was that this boy liked his technology. In the living room, a large screen was perched on the wall, and right underneath, a small shelf sat built into the brick. On the shelf, Louis had hoarded game console after game console. There were bookshelves on either side of the brick wall that were filled with numerous games. Soccer to zombies, war games to driving. This boy had it all.

Kat turned and glanced through the bar window into the relatively small, unused kitchen. It was in stark contrast to the extravagance of the living room, looking somewhat barren. She leaned on the counter of the small bar that separated the living room from the kitchen and attempted to take everything in.

Her thoughts were invaded by a deep voice right in her ear asking, “Need a drink?” Startled, Kat jumped and turned towards Harry who had snuck in behind her. A laugh shook from his chest as he walked around the bar and to the fridge before pulling out a beer. He held it out to her but she shook her head and declined the offer.

“No thanks,” she murmured. Harry shrugged a shoulder and popped the lid before taking a long drink.

“We’ll be safe here,” he replied after swallowing. He was talking mainly to himself, allowing his inner thoughts to seep out. “They don’t know about Lou. He’s pretty... secretive, I guess you could say. Keen on privacy.”

“Seems like he’s keen on gaming, too.” 

He nodded, a smile forming around the mouth of the bottle as he took another drink. “So you saw all that? He always loved video games. Still does, apparently.” Harry pushed himself up onto the counter that was connected to the bar. He turned his head towards her and frowned. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

It wasn’t just the question he was asking that shocked Kat, but also the tone in which he spoke. She hadn’t heard him speak that pleasantly since she met him, and it knocked her down a few pegs. “Oh, yeah,” she stuttered, shaking her head.

“Come on. You’re not the best liar.”

Kat sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair before looking up at him. He was staring at her with his signature intense, focused look that always worried her. He was trying to pick apart her every word and movement, and Kat didn’t appreciate being scrutinized to such extent. She should have really been used to it by then, but she realized that probably was something that you can never get used to completely.

She figured it was better to drop the lies and just come out with it. He would solve it anyways sooner or later. “I mean,” she started, meshing her fingers together on the counter, “this isn’t exactly the most ideal situation. I miss my home.” She glanced down at her hands quickly, not able to hold his gaze much longer.

Harry shifted uncomfortably on the counter. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“I know. You were supposed to kill me, no strings attached.” The biting, harsh words came out before she had a chance to stop them, and she instantly felt regret pour into her stomach. “I... I mean,” she stammered, jerking her gaze back towards him. She was ready to beg for forgiveness as he fiddled with the half full beer bottle.

“No, you’re right,” he finally said after taking another drink. “I was supposed to kill you, but it didn’t happen, and here we are now.” Kat watched him plan out each word carefully, almost as if he was seeing how they tasted in his mouth before letting them fall from it. He was trying to piece together the perfect, least harmful sentence he could. “Some things don’t happen the way they’re planned. I’m not playing by the rules anymore. I fucked that up when I brought you to my home that night.”

“Why didn’t you just end it when you originally planned?” He opened his mouth to reply, but Kat cut him off. “And don’t even say it was because of the police car. They were blocks away. You had the chance.”

Surprisingly enough, Harry didn’t get mad. Instead, a smirk spread across his lips as he looked at her. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

The two of them stared at each other for a good while, but this gaze wasn’t like the others they had shared. All of the others had been about competition, seeing who would be the first to back down from the uncomfortable situation. This time, it was different.

Kat wanted to look away, she really did, but she couldn’t. He had her, once again, by those eyes, and she was powerless against them. Harry started to speak again, but a thud and a string of curse words came from the front door.

“Dammit, Harry!” Louis yelled, slamming the door behind him. “You always just leave your shit lying around for your host to trip over?” Harry laughed and pushed himself off the counter.

“Sorry, Lou,” he drawled, sliding the bags away from the door with his foot. Kat walked into the living room and grabbed her duffle bag.

“You can take that upstairs to yours and Harry’s room.” Louis motioned towards the stairs as he dropped the bag he was holding. Kat paused and glanced at Harry uncomfortably.

“Uh, Lou, I’ll stay in your study. Kat can have the guest room.”

Louis glanced between the two confusingly for a moment before understanding. “Oh! Yeah, totally. That’ll be fine. Sorry about that, love,” he laughed, walking past Kat and into the kitchen.

“I’ll show you around,” Harry murmured to her, touching her upper arm. She couldn’t help but shy away from his touch. If he noticed, he didn’t show it, but it wasn’t like him _not_ to notice.

Kat walked with him up the stairs and he began opening the doors to the hall. “Here’s one of the bathrooms. You’ve got one in your room though, so you’ll be okay. Here’s his office,” he said, opening another. She peeked into the room, and was instantly floored. She had been right when she thought Louis loved technology, but she hadn’t quite gotten the scale of his love for it.

On the far wall from the door, there were numerous screens, all laid out to form one huge, wall length monitor. At the bottom of the wall was a large desk, covered in keyboards, microphones, and a mouse. The two side walls had numerous bookshelves and file cabinets. There was no telling just what all sorts of information filled those cabinets, but Kat had to quell her curiosity for the moment. Maybe she could talk Louis into showing her later.

“Holy crap,” Kat exhaled.

“Go ahead.” She looked up at Harry quickly. “I know you want to check it out,” he smiled. She realized her eyes must have been the size of platters right then as she took in what she was seeing. Slowly, she stepped into the room, her eyes scanning over all the gadgets.

“What in the world does he do for a living?”

Harry laughed. “Kat, you’ve just entered the office of one of the best hackers in all of the United Kingdom.” Kat turned on her heel and stared at the boy.

“Seriously?” she croaked. He nodded in reply as he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. “And he actually makes a living out of it?”

“How do you think he pays for all of this? Hell yes he makes a living out of it.” Kat walked back into the hallway, having seen enough. They walked down the hall a little and Harry stopped in front of another room. “Here’s where you’ll be sleeping,” he said as he pushed the door open.

Kat walked into the bedroom, looking it over. It was pretty plain, and obviously hadn’t been used in a while, but it was a nice change from Harry’s apartment. “Sorry it’s not much, but at least it’s something.”

Kat shook her head and set her bag down on the freshly made bed. “No, it’s fine, really.”

“Also,” he started, his tone slightly nervous. She turned around to look at him. Harry, admitted murderer and all around confident man, never had trouble speaking. He never showed a hint of nerves, but here he was, stumbling over whatever he had to say.

“What?” she urged.

He scratched the back of his neck and glanced up at her. “I asked Louis if he would pick you up some bathroom stuff. Shampoo, body wash, stuff like that.”

Kat wanted to smile, but she looked more surprised than anything. “Really?”

“It’s all in the bathroom.”

“Thank you,” Kat replied, her eyes softening. “That was actually kind of thoughtful.”

Harry snorted. “You know, even the worst people in history have their redeeming qualities.” And with that, Harry trudged out of the room, leaving Kat alone. 

After thinking about it for a moment, she realized a shower needed to be the first thing on her list of things to do. She quickly shut the bedroom door before grabbing a set of fresh clothes from her bag.

Then, she walked into the connecting bathroom and flipped the light on. On the counter were loads of products for her use. Sweet smelling shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, and shaving gel sat beside the sink. She picked up one of the bottles and opened it, relishing in the fact that she no longer had to smell like _him_ after a shower.

She shut the door behind her, smirking when she found a lock on this door, and undressed. It wasn’t long before she was stepping into the steamy shower stall.

Showering had never felt as nice as it did right then. She was actually able to shave her legs for the first time since she had been taken hostage, and that was a welcomed relief. Once she had basically used up all the hot water that was at her disposal, she hopped out and wrapped a towel around her body. She moved over to the sink, quickly brushed her teeth, and ran a brush through her hair. After drying off, she dressed in the t-shirt and baggy shorts she had gotten from her bag.

When she was dressed, she walked out of the bathroom and exited the bedroom, her bare feet padding down the wooden stairs towards the living room. The boys were in the kitchen talking softly to each other.

“I hope you know that makeup hardly covered what you did to her face,” Louis sighed. Kat stopped at the foot of the stairs, her nosiness getting the best of her.

“It did the job well enough,” Harry replied gruffly. Louis opened a cabinet and pulled out three plates for the pizza he had ordered while Kat showered.

“Not really.” Harry opened his mouth to speak but Louis cut him off. “Harry, why is she even here?”

Harry paused. “Because you told me to bring her?”

“No. I mean, why is this even happening? What made you, self-proclaimed ‘master of the game’, fuck up so bad that you’re on the run now with one of your targets?” Silence. “Harry, seriously. You can lie to her all you want, but I’m your best friend, lest you forget. I was nice enough to let you into my house while you’ve got some psycho chasing after you. I think I deserve to know.” Harry let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead with his hand, seemingly trying to wipe away this conversation from his thoughts.

“I don’t know,” he finally groaned, sounding more like a child than anything. “I really don’t know, Lou. If I did, you’d be the first to know.”

“Alright then,” Louis said as he opened the fridge. “Tell me this.” He pulled out two beers and a water before turning to face his friend. “Let’s say Josh does catch up with you two. He catches her, and he gives you the chance to turn and forget everything. You get out, no strings attached. The only thing is that he gets to keep her. What do you do?”

Kat held her breath, waiting for Harry’s answer. The two boys stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Harry let out a small breath. “I... I really don’t know,” he sighed in frustration, shaking his head.

“What the hell, Harry?” Louis’ voice came out gentle and sincere as he walked over to his friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Harry to look up at the older boy.

“Lou, I’m fucked.” 

Kat attempted to lean a bit closer towards the opening of the door to hear better, but as she did, the floor squeaked under her foot and both of the boys shot their head up in the direction of the stairs. “Kat?” Harry called, moving away from Louis. Kat straightened up and walked into the kitchen as if she had just come down the stairs. Harry stepped right in front of her, looking down at her intensely. “What are you doing?”

All of the uncertainty she heard moments before was gone from his voice. He was back to his rough, callous nature, the one that she had grown so accustomed to. “I was just- um- I smelled the pizza,” she said, motioning to the delivery box on the counter.

Harry breathed out a laugh as he looked down at her anxious face. He knew she had heard everything, and she wasn’t hiding it very well. “Whatever you say.”

“I see you found the stuff Harry had me buy for you,” Louis said as he turned towards the pizza. He pulled out a few pieces and put them on the plates before distributing them to the couple. Taking the plate, Kat gave a small nod and grabbed the water Louis had sat out for her. “We can eat in the living room. I don’t have much need for a dining room table since it’s just me here. The coffee table works just fine.”

The three of them walked into the living room, food in tow, and got settled. Harry sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the bottom of the couch, sprawling his long legs out in front of him. “You know, there’s a perfectly good couch right here,” Kat said as she sat down on it.

Harry laughed before popping the top on his beer. “Comfier like this.”

“Yeah, Lurch here never could sit properly on a couch.” Louis plopped down on the couch behind Harry, kicking him in the side on the way. Harry rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop smiling. “So, Harry, how long has it been since the last time we done this?”

Harry took a bite of his pizza and thought as he chewed. “Too long, am I right?” He glanced up at the smaller boy behind him.

Louis nodded. “How’ve you been?” Harry tilted his head to one side.

“Eh,” he shrugged. “Let’s not discuss that.” Kat nibbled at her pizza mindlessly as silence filled the air.

It was weird, sitting there with the two boys like they were all the best of friends. The previous events seemed to linger over Kat’s head like a never ending storm, but Harry and Louis didn’t seem to notice. If they did notice, they certainly didn’t care. Or maybe they just hid it very well.

The silence that overtook the room didn’t faze the boys. They seemed to savor it, feeling more than comfortable as they sat there with each other. Kat was a different story. Silence made you aware of everything that was going on, and it gave you the chance to pick apart every single wrong choice you ever made, and for Kat, that was too many to count.

The main one at the moment being the fact that she was sitting complacently with a killer and a computer hacker. If someone said they made a bad choice, Kat was sure she could top it at this point.

After a bit longer, Louis finished his second piece of pizza and sighed. “Well, as much fun as you two are, I hate to say I have to remove myself from this party. Gonna go take a shower and get some work done upstairs.” He stood up from the couch and glanced down at Kat. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my study.

She nodded and mouthed a silent “thank you” to him before he walked past Harry, knocking his foot into his leg. “I’ll talk to you later.” Louis exited the room, and after throwing his garbage away in the kitchen, he walked up the stairs, leaving the two alone.

“He’s nice,” Kat finally said, looking towards Harry. He gave a nod and put his empty plate on the coffee table before taking a swig of his beverage.

“He’s a real good guy.” Harry was oddly quiet now, and it bothered Kat. She thought that maybe they were starting to somewhat get on the right track, but now she wasn’t so sure. Was that even possible?

“Now _you’re_ worrying _me_ ,” she exhaled, setting her plate beside his.

“Why?”

Kat shrugged a shoulder and looked away. “I mean, I don’t know. You just seemed happier earlier.”

He pushed himself from the floor and slid into the couch where Louis had been minutes before, turning his body to face her. “If you ever get out of this, you really need to go into some sort of therapeutic profession or something. You’d make a killing.” He paused for just a moment, scrunching his face together. “No pun intended.”

Kat stared at him, a blank look on her face, before a smile cracked onto her lips. “You seriously did not just make that joke.”

Harry’s face relaxed as he watched her until she started to laugh softly. “I didn’t mean to. Honest.” Kat shook her head and laughed even harder, covering her face with her hand.

The odd thing about laughter is the release it gives. It’s a contagious act, and once the first bubble bursts, it’s difficult to stop. As soon as Harry realized Kat was laughing, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling along with her, enjoying the feeling of refreshing release it was giving him. It was a catharsis of sorts, lifting a weight off both of their shoulders and cleansing their minds.

Kat hadn’t laughed, actually laughed, in such a long time, she found it hard to stop herself as the giggles slipped between her lips. Finally, Kat took in a few deep breaths and closed her eyes to calm herself. When she opened her eyes, Harry was smirking at her, and she realized just how screwed she was.

It was moments like this where she felt the damaging effects of his disguise. He was such a beautiful boy, all lopsided smile and dimples and twinkling eyes. His cheeks were slightly tinged pink, and it wasn’t clear if it was the after effects of the laughter or the alcohol he had took in. The curls on his head were pushed back away from his face as best they could be, but they still managed fall forwards onto his forehead more often than not.

And now, on top of all that, he looked _happy_ , and that was probably the most destructive factor of it all. He looked happy and normal, like someone who was on vacation visiting his best lad. He didn’t look like someone who was on the run for his life, let alone someone who had committed the crimes that he had.

Yes, he was a murderer. But on the outside, Harry had the looks of someone that all the girls would fall for. That’s how he got them. He had his charming personality and his good looks. His targets never stood a chance.

And frankly, it just wasn’t fair.

He could have had it all, but he decided to go down this dark path and completely ruin everything that was working for him. Some people work so hard to get to where they are. They struggle day in and day out, and often times fail instead of getting what they deserved out of life. Then, there’s Harry, an intelligent, attractive, possibly very talented boy who just passed all that up for a life of crime and sin. Honestly, it pissed Kat off more than she could describe.

“What’s on your mind?” Harry asked, folding one of his legs over the other before leaning back against the couch. “Sure are quiet over there.”

“Can I ask you something and not run the risk of getting yelled at?” Kat bit the inside of her lip nervously as she shifted in her seat.

He gave a wary shrug. “Uh, yeah, sure. Go for it.”

In her mind, she knew she should stop herself. She knew she was better of filing the question in the back of her mind for a later time, but she felt the words escape her mouth before she had the chance to stop them. “I want to know what got you here,” she spilt.

“Well, a train, if you can’t remember the past couple of hours,” he deadpanned. 

Kat rolled her eyes. “No,” she groaned. “I mean, well, what went so wrong?”

Harry stiffened uncomfortably. “A lot of shit,” he mumbled, reaching up the scrape away a few of the misplaced curls.

“A lot of shit that you’re not expecting to let me in on, right?”

“Exactly,” he snapped. Kat shook her head.

“You know, this whole cover isn’t cutting it for me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. It was too late to back down now. Even when he gave her a look that chilled her to the bone, she continued. What would he do? Kill her in his best friend’s house?

Maybe it was best if she didn’t press her luck _too_ much.

When he finally spoke, his voice came out as a low growl. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Kat swallowed hard and thought about sprinting up the stairs. She thought about forgetting this conversation had even been brought up, but she couldn’t force herself to stop.

“Harry, I’m so, so tired,” she sighed. “I’ve been almost murdered, kidnapped, held hostage, and now I’m on the run. I’m just so _tired_. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home. And I can’t. I can’t go home, or whatever home is to me now. I can’t. You, however, can. You’ve fucked up your life, but you can still turn around and go home if you want. You and I both know that if we even get out of this, there’s no way I will be able to go back to a normal life. You’ve took that away from me.”

Kat’s words came spewing out towards Harry. Instead of losing it like she expected, he just sat there and took it, completely silent. “Furthermore,” she continued after taking a breath, “it pisses me off that you threw everything away for this. Everything. You’re so good looking and you could have had a good life and you gave it away for this shitty alternative. How could you have been so stupid?!” Her voice rose with the last sentence as she passed her breaking point.

There Kat was, seething and angrier than she had been in years, and Harry just sat there, taking it all in. His emotion never changed. She finally stopped yelling and glowered at him, her hands trembling. “Say something!” she shouted after a few silent moments.

Harry raised his eyebrows. “I was just making sure you were done.”

She had never felt her jaw drop as fast as it did right then. Kat let out an exasperated groan as she came to her senses. It wasn’t worth it, she realized. He wasn’t worth fighting with. Instead of screaming at him even more like she wanted to, she pushed herself from the couch and started to walk away. “Such a dick,” she muttered under her breath.

Before she could process what was happening, Harry had jumped from the couch and grabbed her arm, spinning her around. She let out a small yelp when she was face to face with him, her eyes wide with shock. “Wanna say that to my face?” he hissed.

Kat clenched her jaw tight and took two deep, quick breaths. “You’re a dick,” she repeated, this time with more assurance. He scowled down at her for the longest time and she was just sure this was going to be it.

To her surprise, Harry smirked and leaned in a bit closer. “Good little girl. Confidence suits you very well.” 

Kat jerked her arm away from him hard, absolutely fuming. “Now is not the time to try and charm me.” She didn’t think she could look at him for much longer right then, so she pushed past him and started for the stairs.

As she climbed the stairs, she passed by Louis’ office, where she heard him laughing softly. “Get ‘em, girl,” Louis called out the door. Kat ignored him and continued to the quest room, where she promptly slammed the door and locked it behind her.

Louis’ laughter got a bit louder until Harry yelled, “Lou, shut the fuck up!”

“She’s right though, Curly. You are sort of a dick!”

Kat moved the bag from the bed and tossed it to the side. All at once, exhaustion started to kick in. Traveling had always worn her out, even when she was going small distances. The plane ride from the States to London had been the worst, though. She literally slept for two days after she landed, only waking up to feed herself twice and to go to the bathroom.

After everything she had been through lately, she felt like she could sleep for even longer than that this time. 

Usually, she would have tossed around all night with too much on her mind and been unable to rest, but neither of those things happened. Laughter wasn’t the only cathartic action, she realized. Her feelings had been spilt out from the forefront of her mind, and weren’t constantly nagging her that night. She fell asleep with ease, hardly moving at all throughout the evening.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, Kat woke up sluggishly, expecting to still wake up in the dingy apartment that had been her jail for the past week. The day before had been such an odd change from what she had been dealing with that it all felt sort of like a dream. It didn’t seem possible for such a drastic change to occur. Yet, when she opened her eyes, she didn’t see the shadowed apartment and a green eyed villain staring back at her. She saw sunlight splashed on the bland wallpaper of a barely furnished bedroom. She saw the pastel yellow of the comforter that enveloped her. She saw an open room and a lock on the door and _freedom_. 

There was something about Louis’ house that made her feel comfortable and warm, almost like she was staying at any friend’s house overnight. Louis seemed to have that effect on people. He brought out the best, making them feel relaxed in even the most adverse situations. 

The deep aroma of coffee was what finally dragged her from the bed. After pulling her hair messily into a ponytail, she made her way downstairs and into the living room. Louis was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in his hands, already dressed and ready for the day. He heard her step off the stairs and turned to smile over his shoulder at her.

“Good, you’re awake. Coffee?” Louis stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen with Kat.

“That would be great,” she replied. He made his way to the coffee maker and quickly poured a cup.

“Cream? Sugar?”

“A splash of milk with two scoops of sugar, please.” As Louis was making the coffee, Kat hoisted herself onto the counter to sit.

He grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured a bit into the cup. “So, if you couldn’t tell, I heard you two fighting last night.”

“Has Harry not gotten up yet?” Kat asked, trying to change the subject.

“No, he hasn’t, but back to what I was saying.” Louis was a quick talker, able to turn the conversation around in a split second and leave the other person reeling. She sighed softly and took the cup he was holding out to her. “I want to know more about you, Kat. Harry’s told me very little.”

“Well that seems like a resounding topic,” she said after taking a sip. “He’s told me very little about anything.”

“Harry’s a quiet type. He’s got a lot going on in that head of his though, that’s for sure.”

Kat hopped off the counter and padded into the living room. She sat down on the couch before asking, “Well, what do you want to know?”

Louis followed behind her and sat down as well. “What do you do for a living?”

“I was working at a bookstore before... well.”

“Harry said you were a book person. Poetry, right?”

“Still creepy that he knows that,” Kat mumbled against her cup before taking another sip.

Louis laughed gently. “Harry’s just a creepy person.”

“Understatement of the year.”

A beat of silence passed before Louis took in a breath. “I’ve wanted to ask you something since I first met you,” he said, looking over at her. “And if I’m overstepping my boundaries, please, stop me. But, you seem so calm with everything that’s going on. How are you able to stay so composed?”

It was a question she had asked herself more than a few times since it all began, and at that point, she still didn’t have a solid answer. She took a drink of the warm liquid before trying to tackle the question. “Honestly, I think it only seems like I’m composed on the outside. Inside, I’m a complete mess.”

“Who wouldn’t be in your situation?” Kat shook her head as Louis continued. “You’re stronger than you think, and I applaud you for that. Shit, if I was in your situation, I’d probably be a wreck.”

She smiled just a tad. “Thanks, but I’m not strong. I just hide it well. I spent the first night bawling my eyes out.”

“You know,” Louis said as he shifted in his seat a little, obviously jumping at the chance to ask something that was gnawing away at him, “Harry didn’t tell me exactly what happened. All I know is that he was supposed to... yeah. And he didn’t. And now you’re here.”

“And you want to know why I’m not dead, right?”

After Kat blurted her words out before she could stop herself, she expected an awkward silence to wash over the two of them. Instead, Louis pursed his lips and nodded once. “As bad as it sounds, yes.”

Kat leaned forward and sat her cup down on the table in front of them. “Before I go into that, let me ask _you_ something.” She glanced over at Louis who was waiting expectantly. “Why is it so hard to believe that he didn’t kill me?”

He smirked slightly. “I knew you’d ask that sooner or later, and the truth is that he’s never let a kill go before.” After realizing the poor choice of words, he started to backtrack, “I mean, he didn’t technically let you go, but you know what I mean.”

“Never?”

Louis shook his head. “You’re the first that survived.”

“But, why?”

In the very short amount of time that Kat had known him, Louis seemed to have an answer for anything you could throw at him. Everything except for that. “He may tell me a lot, but I don’t think even he knows the answer to that.”

Kat tucked a stray hair behind her ear that was beginning to slip from her ponytail as she made a face. “Louis, what is your theory for it?”

“For why he let you live?” She nodded. “Well, I’ve got a theory, but I need to know what exactly happened first.”

Shifting in her seat a little, Kat let out a sigh. “Bear with me, okay?” Louis nodded in reply and waited for her to continue.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to Kat to talk about what had happened. It was just a simple relay of events, starting at point A and ending at point B. It was like telling a story. A very dramatic, completely twisted, Edgar Allan Poe worthy story.

But as soon as she began to recount what had happened, everything started to flood back into her mind. All of the emotions and crushing feelings washed over her being. She took in a quick breath, finding it hard to form her words.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, gripping her hands together.

Louis shook his head. “If you can’t talk about it, you just can’t. Trust me, there are things that have happened in my life that I can’t even begin to talk about, let alone to a relative stranger.”

“None of this was supposed to have happened.” Kat leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes. 

“You know, Harry wasn’t always like this,” Louis spoke. He placed his empty cup on the table in front of them before turning his body towards the girl. Kat looked back at Louis, her brows creasing together. “When we were growing up, he was actually sort of tolerable. Annoying, but tolerable. He was the little brother I never had.” The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled from a memory. “I remember one time, there was this community picnic down at the local park. Of course, my family was in charge of it all. Harry and I were playing footie, if I remember correctly. Some kid kicked the ball and I dove to stop it, and as luck would have it, my pants split right down the middle seam.” 

Louis’ eyes were bright, and it was almost like he wasn’t completely _there_ at the moment. He was back in that day at the park, running around with his childhood friend, completely immersed in the memory. Kat could feel her face start to soften as Louis continued. “I tried to tell my parents discreetly but they were running around trying to get the food done and cater to everyone’s needs. I was so embarrassed. But I felt someone tap my shoulder and when I looked, there was Harry standing there with a bottle of water in his hand. I think he was like seven at that point, and he had the absolute goofiest grin on his face. That boy took that water bottle and poured it over his pants to make it look like he had wet himself. Not once did he stop grinning. He said people would be more apt to laugh at him wetting his pants than me splitting mine.” 

Kat felt a smile break out on her features. The boy in the story was the complete opposite of the man that she had come to know. What could have gone so wrong in that little boy’s life to where he had to turn to the lifestyle he did? Kat had asked herself that countless times.

He sighed, “And that’s the kind of boy that Harry used to be. Just talking about the past is hard for me to do sometimes. I look back and I just can’t believe how much he’s changed. I mean, he always had his anger issues. Terrible, terrible temper. But he could have made it.” Louis’ lips pressed together as he dropped his gaze. “Like I said, he wasn’t always like this. He wasn’t always obsessed with this chase that he takes part in. This damn organization is like a cancer. It starts slow and then it sucks you in before you have a chance to take a breath. And then, you’re dead.”

“Then why did he join it in the first place?” 

Louis’ answer was simple. “Harmony.”

“Harmony?” Kat shook her head. “Who’s Harmony?”

“She was the most important person in Harry’s life. More important than me. More important than... than anyone, really.” Louis finally looked back up towards Kat. “Harmony was Harry’s sister.”

“Was?”

“It’s crazy how just one thing can change everything.” His voice cracked at the end, and he cleared his throat quickly. The raw emotion that filled his words made Kat’s stomach drop. She didn’t want to hear what was coming. She knew before he answered, and it was like rubbing salt in a wound. “It took everything I had to be there for him. She was a friend of mine, but he had just lost a _sister_. He was nine and had to go through that. Something like that fucks you up, and that’s why I don’t blame him for the path he chose.” Louis huffed out a breath. “I mean, obviously I don’t approve, but I _get_ it, you know?”

Kat knew. Kat knew and she hated just how true it was. “What was she like?” she asked, trying to push aside her thoughts.

Louis pushed himself from the couch and made his way over to the bar. “I keep a picture of her in my wallet. Strange, right?”

Kat shook her head. “No, it’s not.” After a few moments of picking through his wallet, he made his way back over to her. In his hand was a worn, somewhat wrinkled photo.

“She was always a good friend of mine. Beautiful, beautiful girl.” But when he held the picture out towards Kat, she couldn’t focus on the beauty of the girl in the picture. She couldn’t focus on the piercing green eyes or brown tendrils that seemed all too familiar or the grin that split her face in two. All she could focus on was the sick feeling of realization that swallowed her whole.

Kat’s face went pale as she stared at the photo. “That’s Harmony?” Louis nodded as Kat took the object between her thumb and index finger for closer inspection. “It’s her,” she exhaled, swallowing hard. She could feel the bile working its way up from her stomach, and she done her best to push it down. It was her. Harmony was the girl in the picture that almost resulted in Kat losing her life.

It was Harry’s sister.

“Kat?” Louis voice echoed through her mind. He placed a hand on her knee, leaning in a bit closer. “Kat, what’s wrong?”

“I- I said something,” she whimpered, finally tearing her eyes from the girl’s face to look at Louis. “I said something awful.”

“To Harry?” Kat nodded. “What did you say?”

Before Kat could answer, a noise from upstairs interrupted. They both turned their heads towards the stairs just as Harry appeared at the top, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a lazy smile. “Morning,” he said hoarsely, his voice still deep and dripping with sleep.

Louis plucked the picture from Kat’s hand and laughed as he stood from the couch, somehow completely able to remove himself from the conversation. He looked as if they had been chatting about the weather, not a dead sibling. “Harry’s not modest at all,” he tittered. “If you weren’t here, he’d probably be naked.”

Walking towards the kitchen, Harry gave Kat a half smile. “What can I say? I like the freedom of it.” The boys both walked into the kitchen together, leaving Kat alone.

All she could think about was Harmony. If Kat had known, she would have never said a word to him about her. But she had, and she felt awful about it.

She knew how she would feel if someone made any sort of comment about her brother. She used to have to deal with that nonstop. If it wasn’t an unknown passerby on the street giving the family a pitiful look, it was her parents trying to “console” her. _“Oh, Kat, it’s better this way.” “He can’t be helped.” “He’ll be happier there.”_

Bullshit.

Kat knew she didn’t have all the answers yet, but it was starting to come together. Just like Louis, she didn’t approve at all of what Harry done, but, depending on how he lost his sister, it could explain a lot of things. She knew how protective she was of her brother, even though he was two years older than her. Any snide comment made about him set her off. Over the years, she learned to swallow her words and act civil to some degree, but it didn’t mean she didn’t burn inside every time. 

She could only wonder how Harry felt. He seemed like a robot, incapable of any emotion other than the regular outburst of anger. Did he feel the sting of losing his sister like any normal person would? If so, how did he manage to force people to feel that same pain by taking innocent lives? He of all people should know how terrible it was to have someone ripped away like that.

“-gonna be in my office if you need me,” Louis spoke to Harry as they walked out of the kitchen. Harry nodded, allowing Louis to bounce up the stairs.

Kat stood from the couch and grabbed her empty coffee cup. As she walked past him to put the cup in the sink, Harry asked, “Did you sleep well?” She gave him a small nod and tried to exit the room quickly. She still had Harmony on her mind, making it impossible for her to look at him normally. She wanted to still view him as this monster, not as some boy struggling with the death of his sister. “Hey,” he said softly, reaching out to grab her arm before she passed.

Kat stopped right beside him, but didn’t turn to face him. Instead, she stared straight at the ground, hoping he would let her go before she broke. Of course, he didn’t. She should have known better than to have hope for that. “I didn’t mean to upset you last night. You were, um, right, I guess. I just need to-” he paused to sigh, seeming to struggle with what he was trying to say, “realize what you’re going through.”

His words came out uneasy and completely unprepared, and when Kat finally looked up at him, his face was wrinkled with confusion. He was apologizing. It wasn’t technically an apology, but it was the closest to one as she was going to get from him. It was strange to Kat to hear him speaking like this. He seemed to feel guilty for the way he had acted the night before.

Kat pulled away from his hand and gave him a weak smile. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not _okay_ but I’ll be fine.”

Harry made a face like he wanted to say something else, but instead, he gave a short nod and walked towards the couch. He grabbed the remote from the table before plopping down into the cushions and flipping on the television. Before long, he was immersed in a cheesy soap opera. Kat always hated those sorts of shows. In her mind, they were completely unrealistic and didn’t show life in the true form.

But when she started to think about it, her life seemed like some big soap plot. On the search for a missing person? Check. Life gets put in danger? Check. Get kidnapped? Check. The only thing missing was the romance connection, and she immediately pushed the thought from her head. Hell no.

She let out a breath as she sat on the opposite end of the couch, completely uninterested in the show that was on the screen in front of them. 

Harry’s eyes stayed focused on the show, not bothering to even pay an ounce of attention as she sat down. He would laugh every so often if one of the characters made a dumb joke, and once, audibly grunted when the girl chose the prim and proper guy over the misfit with a criminal background.

“You’re seriously judging her for her choice?” Kat asked, glancing over at Harry. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a disgusted look on his face.

“Gus obviously loves her more than Brock does. I mean, come on. He’s just a little rough around the edges. Couldn’t she overlook that?”

“Are you really getting upset over a stupid soap opera?”

“Heeeeey,” he protested, “it’s not stupid.” 

Kat laughed gently and turned her attention back to the television. “I don’t even understand what’s going on.”

Harry straightened up on the couch. “Alright, so, we’ve got Donna, okay? She’s the woman in the pink right here,” he explained. Kat nodded, trying to focus on what he was saying. “She was married to Gus. But then, Gus got mixed up into the mafia, and had to leave Donna so she and their daughter Lily didn’t get killed.” When Harry spoke, his whole face showed his excitement. It was jarring to think that this boy in front of her who was talking in detail about a soap opera had committed acts even the most extreme soaps couldn’t cover.

“Okay,” Kat nodded. “Where does Brock come in to all this?”

“Well, Brock is the new business man in town. Got a lot of money, you see? And he started dating Donna and is really just a dick.”

“So let me guess. Gus came back for Donna and his daughter-”

“Lily,” he chimed in.

Kat smiled and corrected herself, “Gus came back for Donna and _Lily_ , and Donna chose Brock over the man who truly loves her?”

“Yes! Isn’t it bullshit?” Harry threw his arms up as he stared at her, waiting for her to agree with him. After a few seconds, she laughed hard, covering her mouth with her hand. “What’s so funny?” he asked as his arms dropped slowly. 

“You!”

“Me? What the hell did I do? This is for real!” He attempted to look as insulted as he could, but the forced frown didn’t last too long as Kat’s laugh started to get louder. A smile was soon splitting across his lips while Kat attempted to stop giggling and catch her breath. “You think I’m funny?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kat rolled her eyes, her smile still on her lips. “I wasn’t laughing with you. More at you.” In a blur, Harry snatched the throw pillow behind him and hurled it at her face without any warning. “Hey!” she shrieked, grasping the pillow.

Harry simply shrugged, a smirk sitting proud on his features. “You’re not fast enough. You’ve got to pay attention in this world.”

“I am fast enough, thank you,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes again.

Harry huffed out a loud laugh as he settled back down in the couch. His eyes locked on the television once more, and Kat took this moment of vulnerability to launch her own attack. She quickly swung the pillow towards him, expecting to make contact with his upper chest, but it never happened.

All she felt was a pair of hands gripping her arms as she was pushed back into the couch. Harry’s weight was pressing her into the soft cushions, and the pillow had been tossed away onto the floor. Kat’s wide eyes finally found his face as he leaned over her, still smirking. “Told you you’re not fast enough,” he spoke, his voice dangerously low.

When their eyes locked, Harry’s expression faded into a blank look. He was statuesque, the only movement coming from his steady breaths. The closeness became suffocating as Kat stared up at the still nearly naked boy on top of her. 

It was like time had slowed, and everything had become overwhelmingly noticeable. Every sound, smell, and feeling was amplified ten times over. She could hear Louis typing away upstairs. She was sure he would even be able hear her heartbeat, which was thudding deep inside her chest, because it was just so thunderous in her own ears. The smell of Harry’s shampoo surrounded her, the cleansing aroma almost overpowering her as she laid there, pinned beneath him. He was bone-crushingly close, near inches away from her face. It was all too much.

Finally, Harry broke the silence. “You know,” he said softly, his eyes narrowing on her, “I wish I hadn’t done that to your face.” He swallowed hard as he pulled one of his hands away from her wrist and reached down to trace the cut on her right cheek gently.

Kat closed her eyes, her head snapping away instinctively. Harry’s hand stopped for just a moment. “I’m not trying to hurt you,” he whispered. She opened her eyes, and sucked in a quick breath. The pain that was evident in his voice was the breaking point for Kat. Too, too much.

In a normal relationship, this would be the moment where the girl would be scrambling up towards the boy’s lips to kiss away the pain. But, this wasn’t any normal relationship, and Kat had to remind herself of that.

He was deadly. He had murdered in cold blood and was not ashamed to say it. He seemed proud of it, which was the scariest fact of all.

Kat had to constantly be reminded that it was his looks that made this so very easy for him, and she couldn’t let herself be another player in his game again. She could tell herself that over and over again, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t completely enamored with those eyes.

Harry cupped his hand on the side of her face, and slowly started to lean in towards her, his eyes completely focused in on her lips.

_It was going to happen. I wasn’t going to stop him this time, and even now, when I think about it, my heart pounds just like it was doing right then. I was torn, and it may sound absolutely ridiculous to say that. But I was._

_On the one hand, there was Harry, the boy who had kidnapped me and had my life in the palm of his hand._

_On the other hand, there was Harry, the boy who was best friends with his complete opposite and enjoyed cheesy soap operas and walking around nearly naked._

_I wasn’t completely sure which Harry was about to kiss me, but I didn’t let myself think about it for too long. I had fallen completely and hopelessly into his trap and it wasn’t fair. It still isn’t fair._

_Maybe I was just lonely. A bit crazy, sure._

_But whatever the reason, he was about to kiss me and I was going to let him._

“The prime minister’s wife is having an affair.”

The warmth from Harry’s body was suddenly gone as fast as it had pushed against Kat. She opened her eyes and found Harry standing by the couch, glaring towards the stairwell. “Haven’t you heard of privacy?” he snarled.

Kat sat up, still dazed, and glanced to Louis standing at the top of the stairs. “It’s my house, Curly. Anyways, did you hear what I said?”

Harry sighed, “Yes, I bloody heard what you said. I don’t care.”

“I just announced that the prime minister’s wife is having an affair and you don’t care? Right tosser, you are. Kat, the man’s wife is cheating on him. Interested?”

Kat glanced towards Harry, who was glaring down at her, then back to Louis. When they made eye contact, Louis smiled warmly and Kat didn’t waste any time scrambling to her feet and trotting up the stairs. Harry huffed out a breath and mumbled a string of curse words as she reached Louis.

“You can thank me later,” Louis chuckled in a hushed tone as they walked into his office.

It was her second time in that room, and she was still absolutely amazed. It was like walking into some kind of secret government facility, not some twenty-something’s office. Louis sat down in one of the office chairs and spun around to face a screen in front of him. “So, just give me a second to pull it up,” he muttered as he typed a few strings of code on the keyboard. A few seconds later, an image was pulled up in front of them. It was an office, from the looks of it, and there was clearly a flustered woman standing in front of an equally as ruffled younger male.

Louis laughed, tapping twice on the keyboard to zoom in closer. “You missed the action. For her age, she’s feisty.”

“You... You hacked into the security cameras?” Kat took a step towards Louis, narrowing her eyes at the screen. 

“Yeah.” Louis shrugged a shoulder. “It’s no big deal. Not hard at all. I’ve done worse, trust me. I just do this when I’m bored.”

“You hack into _security cameras_ when you’re _bored_?”

Louis’ eyebrows meshed together in confusion as he glanced up at her. “Um.. Yes?”

Kat shook her head. “Why?”

Louis glanced back towards the screen as he kicked his feet up on the desk. “Well, I’m not really sure, I guess. I was always good with computers growing up, and then I found out you could really make money in it. Not to mention, it’s pretty entertaining.” He looked back at her, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “You get to be this fly on the wall, and if you’re good enough, they never, ever find you. Some of the things you hear... you’re maybe one of the only three people in the world that know that information. You know about things before they happen and you can prepare for them. You have the upper hand at _all_ times. And that, my dear, is power.”

“So what are you going to do with this information?” she asked, nodding towards the screen.

Louis shook his head as he looked back towards the view of the office. “Nothing. But a little blackmail material never hurt anyone, now did it?” He shifted his feet from the desk and sat up. He tapped his fingers across the keys quickly, which caused the CD drive to pop out from one of the towers located on the desk. He plucked the disk from the drive before taking a sharpie and scribbling the date followed by “Prime Minister” on it. Then, after placing it in a case, he made his way to one of the filing cabinets on the wall.

“And now you have it if you ever need it, right?”

“Correct,” he trilled, pulling open one of the drawers. Dropping her gaze to the floor, Kat leaned against the desk as Louis made his way back towards her. “You alright?”

“What are we going to do?” She looked back up towards him.

Louis pressed his lips into a hard line and ran a hand through his messy hair. “Harry and I talked last night,” he sighed. “Honestly, we’re at a loss. No matter- Whatever-” Louis groaned, struggling with his words.

“Just say it, please,” Kat exhaled. Louis looked at her, a weak smile forming on his lips.

“No matter what happens, I can’t figure out a way we’re going to keep you safe if he lets you go.”  
There it was. The question of what would happen to her had constantly been on her mind since day one, and it was just a matter of time before it was answered. Louis wasn’t the only one who had that thought run through his brain. Kat knew it was true, as much as she hated it.

She wasn’t going to get any sort of happy ending in this story.

“So what does that mean?”

Louis’ hand clapped onto her shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. “It means we’re going to take this one day at a time,” he explained. “For now, you two are here for safety. And I know it’s hard to believe, but you _are_ safe here, for the time being. You’ve got two people looking after you, and I promise we aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

Kat took a step away from Louis, forcing him to release her arm. Harry wanted her dead, and at the end of this, that was probably how she would wind up. She knew this, and it stung to know that Harry had manipulated his only friend into thinking that way. “You seriously think _he_ cares that I’m safe?” she sneered. “He just wants to be the one to kill me. He doesn’t want to give anyone else the satisfaction of taking that from him.”

“Kat, it’s not like that now and you know it. You can cut the act.”

Kat felt her mouth open slightly in surprise. “What act?” she finally replied.

“I’m not stupid,” he laughed, rolling his eyes. “You can say you hate him all you want, and you can say that he’s this monster that only wants to kill. You can say it until you almost believe it. But you and I both know you won’t ever fully believe it.” Kat stared at the blue-eyed boy in front of her. She didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want to hear any of it, but Louis continued. “If _he_ brought _you_ here, that means a hell of a lot, and I think we both know that. You... You got him to apologize. Bloody hell, he took the time to explain a damn soap opera to you.”

Kat tried to turn and run from the room, but she couldn’t. Her feet stayed glued to the floor, forcing her to listen to Louis’ rant. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off before she got the chance. “You know, he called me before you two came. Want to know what he asked? He asked me what sort of body wash is the best for a girl.” He paused and gave a quick shrug and a shake of his head. “Yeah, he fucked up. Big time, I know. He tried to murder you. And fuck him for that, yeah? But I don’t care what anyone says. He cares. He cares about you. Maybe he didn’t before, but he does now. And I am so, so sorry.” Louis sighed, his eyes softening as he stared at the girl. “You wanted my theory. There it is.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat jerked their attention to the door. Harry stood there, his arms crossed over his bare chest, glaring at the two. “Louis,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Run on, Kat,” Louis sighed. “We’ll talk later.”

Kat dropped her head as she turned towards the door and started to walk past the brooding figure. Before she could pass, he grabbed her arm tight like he did in the kitchen doorway, forcing her to stop walking. “Don’t listen to a fucking word he said,” he hissed, the venom sinking into her from his words. “He’s wrong.”

Kat jerked her arm from his grip and turned her gaze towards him. “Yeah,” she spat, “I know he is.” Harry turned his head towards her, the shock on his face clouding the anger. “You’re incapable of caring that much.” Not giving him a chance to reply, Kat shoved past Harry, leaving him standing there in complete disbelief.

Kat chuckled, lifting her gaze away from the paper. The raindrops were skating across the train window still as she took a deep breath and continued writing.

_I was such a brat. I had the right to be though, didn’t I? I’d like to think I did. I think I was mainly shocked at that point. How could someone who had put me through so much shit actually care about me? It didn’t seem possible._

_Harry had ruined me. Yet here was Louis, claiming that the boy liked me.  
And really, I already knew it. It answered all of my questions. Why didn’t he kill me the first night? Why did he take care of my injuries? Why did he take me to Louis’? And why the hell am I still alive after being such a bitch?_

_He cared about me, and I didn’t want to admit it. Because seriously, how fucked up is that? My almost-murderer cares about me. That doesn’t happen. That shouldn’t happen._

_Yet, I’m still alive. Explain that._

_I didn’t want to admit that he may have cared about me, but even more so, I didn’t want to admit that I may care for him too._


	20. Chapter 20

It was happening again. She didn’t know how, and she didn’t know why, but it was happening again. Kat was about to be taken. The cold wind whipped around her as she hustled down the empty sidewalk, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. There wasn’t anyone behind her, but the sound of footsteps other than her own was jolting through her eardrums. It sounded like they were right behind her.

She felt the fear bubbling up inside of her, pursing viciously throughout her entirety until she wanted to scream. Panic was beginning to win over. Kat urged herself to keep moving forward and not turn to see the source of the sound, but as the footsteps grew louder, she couldn’t help it.

One final glance over her shoulder proved that she was overreacting, like always. There was nothing there. However, it didn’t calm her nerves. It didn’t cause her to slow her pace on bit, and it sure as hell didn’t help her heart rate. She turned back around as a sob ripped through her chest.

Suddenly, she found herself staring straight at a brick wall, giving her just enough time to hold her hands out to keep from running into it face first. Kat pounded her fist against the wall once as another sob heaved from her lungs, forcing a cry from her lips. She was in the alley, just like before.

Kat quickly turned around to her only exit, the way she came in. Before she could even think twice, she started to sprint towards the opening of the alleyway, her breaths coming out in labored gasps. She forced herself to run as fast as she could, and for a moment she thought she was going to make it. She was almost to the end of the dark alley, and she was going to run straight home and everything was going to be okay.

Just as she reached the end of the alley, a dark figure stepped in front of her, forcing her to come to a screeching halt. The figure moved towards her slowly, almost as if it were floating over the wet ground, smooth and calculated.

It was him, she realized. She couldn’t see his face in the darkened shadows of the alley, but she knew who it was, and what was happening. Harry was going to kill her this time. And she shouldn’t have been surprised, not really, because he _was_ a killer. She had told herself that time and time again, so it shouldn’t have been a shock when the figure pulled a knife from his coat. She still found a gasp tearing through her throat, though.

“Please,” Kat whispered. She knew it would have no effect. The word seemed to fall on deaf ears as the figure drifted closer and closer. Before long, her back was pressed against the brick wall in the back of the alley. She was trapped. “Please!” Her voice came a little louder this time, but it still cracked slightly from panic. The shadow continued closer. “STOP!” she screamed, the word ripping from her throat as tears started to spill down her cheeks.

Suddenly, Kat was sobbing, repeating her pleas over and over again, as if it would help somehow. “You don’t have to do this,” she wept, breaking the pattern of prayers. “You stopped once before, y-you can stop again. There’s some sort of a.. a soul, or something inside of you, and I know that part of you can hear me!”

The words flowed from her lips without a thought, and she wasn’t quite sure where they were coming from. She had been constantly telling herself that he was a monster and he couldn’t be trusted. Where was all of this coming from?

Whatever it was, it didn’t reach the conscience of the figure, or whatever she was trying to accomplish. They had one thing on their mind, and nothing was going to stop them.

Kat braced herself against the wall and clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the attack.

However, instead of the sound of skin being sliced, she heard a thud of a body crumbling to the ground, and it wasn’t her own. Kat quickly opened her eyes, and on the ground in front of her was the figure, a pool of blood growing around them.

Another figure towered over the dead body now, a glinting knife settled in their hand. Instead of charging toward her like she half expected, the figure slowly reached a hand up and removed the hood that blocked the streetlight from hitting his face. Harry stared at her, his eyes that same vivid, intense shade, but strangely relieved. Kat felt herself let out a breath that was sitting tight inside her lungs, coming out in a cloud in the cold air.

“You saved me,” she whispered. He looked as astonished as she sounded.

Suddenly, his face turned into a snarl, the relief that was masking his face slipping away. “That wasn’t okay!” he snapped as he took a step towards her. She started to speak again, but he cut her off. “You knew good and well to keep your mouth shut!”

“Can we not do this right now?” a lighter voice sighed. It was Louis.

The alleyway began to brighten with morning sunlight. When Kat glanced down towards the body on the ground, it had disappeared, leaving only a pool of crimson blood behind. Even that was beginning to fade away.

“Why did you think it was okay to say any of that?!” Kat’s eyes snapped open to the sound of a door being slammed, and voices carrying through the whole house. She was in Louis’ guest bed, the remnants of a dream still rattling around in her brain. “I don’t care about her!”

“Then tell me why she’s here, Harry. Tell me why you brought her here. Why you left her alive!”

Kat sat up slowly in the bed, shivering slightly when the cool air hit her skin. She pulled the blanket back over her and sat as still as possible. She knew it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, but it was hard to ignore it when their voices were coming from Louis’ office, right next to Kat’s temporary room. “It’s none of your damn business,” Harry growled.

“If you can’t give me a reason, I have no choice but to stick to my theory.”

“Fuck your theories!”

“Lower your voice,” Louis chided. “She’s still sleeping.”

“I don’t care if she’s sleeping! I’ll go wake her up right now!”

The sound of Harry’s footsteps sounded heavily, reaching Kat’s door. She shuffled down into the sheets and rolled over onto her side, her back facing the door. The door opened quickly, but before Harry could say anything, Louis’ light footsteps padded behind him. “Let her sleep,” he whispered. “She’s had a rough couple of days, and she deserves to rest.”

“Loui-”

He cut in quickly, adding, “You didn’t get out of bed for almost four days after what happened. Leave her alone.”

She could almost hear Harry’s mind working the gears, trying to come up with some sort of objection against what Louis had said, but apparently he couldn’t. He let out a heavy sigh just before turning and walking out of the bedroom. Louis shut the door behind them. “You had no right to say any of that Lou.” Harry’s voice had lowered quite a bit, but the stress that sat behind his words seeped from them.

“She asked for what I thought, so I told her. Like I said, if you can’t prove to me otherwise, that’s what I’m going to stick with.” Harry groaned softly. “It’s okay to care for her, Harry. She’s very pretty, and quite intelligent. It’s okay.”

“I don’t care about her,” he snarled.

Louis chuckled. “Maybe you just haven’t realized it yet.”

“And I won’t. Because it’s not true.”

The two of them walked back into Louis’ office, and she heard Louis sit down in his desk chair as it rolled backwards against the wood floor. “When you do realize it though, you need to remember just how dangerous it is. That’s what Josh warned y-”

“You don’t have to remind me of what Josh said. I got it, loud and clear. And it’s not going to be anything to worry about, because it’s not going to happen.” Harry walked towards Louis’ door slowly, stopping just as he reached the threshold. “This isn’t some kind of movie, Louis,” he threw over his shoulder. “I’m not going soft. I’m not going to have some ‘moment of revelation’ where I regret every bad thing I’ve ever done and change my ways. I’m not going to fall in love with her. I am a killer, and she was my target. End of story. Do you understand?”

Kat drew in a small breath, the bite hitting a bit harder than it should have. It was all the truth, but it stung like a freshly opened wound. “Yeah,” Louis sighed, defeated. “I completely understand.”

“Good. Now, get the rest of that information that I asked for, please.”

“Of course.”

Kat heard Louis’ office door shut behind Harry as he walked out, and towards her room. She quickly relaxed under the sheets, preparing for Harry to come into the room. However, the door didn’t open. Harry’s footsteps stopped just at her door, like he was lingering before pushing it open. He stood there for a few worrying moments before he finally backed away, and walked down the stairs instead.

Kat laid there for a few more minutes, trying to make sure the coast was clear before she walked into the war zone. After she was sure the dust was settled, she pushed the covers from her from her body and crossed the wood floor to the door. She poked her head out just barely, and as soon as she did, Louis’ office door opened and his head popped out as well.

“Heard you get up,” he said softly, a warm smile sitting tight on his lips. “Sleep well?” Kat nodded as she walked out into the hallway towards the stairs. She was attempting to bypass any mentions of what had happened, but she wasn’t that lucky. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by what I said last night.” Louis’ voice was small and almost childlike, like he had known he had stepped out of line.

Kat turned to face him. “It’s really okay,” she shrugged, dropping her gaze.

“No, it’s not. I had no right.” He paused for just a moment as his eyes moved from the girl, towards the stairs, and back again. “I had no right, but I don’t take any of it back.”

Before Kat could say a word, Louis stepped back into his office and shut the door. As she turned back towards the stairs, she let out a sigh. It was all too ridiculous to think about that early in the morning, she decided, especially before she had a sip of coffee.

She walked into the kitchen, her eyes immediately landing on the tall, messy haired figure standing at the fridge. Kat took a second to pause and collect her thoughts before clearing her throat and walking towards the coffee pot next to the fridge. Louis had already brewed a pot especially for her, and she was again reminded of his accommodating nature.

Harry jerked his head to the side to glance at her before looking back into the fridge, completely silent. She didn’t let it affect her. She simply grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured some of the piping hot liquid into it. After scooping two spoonfuls of sugar into it, Kat turned towards the fridge and waited for Harry to move.

A few moments passed before he glanced back over his shoulder towards her. “What?” he grumbled, looking back into the fridge.

“I need the milk.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait.”

“Just let me grab the milk.”

“You can get it when I’m done.”

Kat crossed her arms over her chest, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Just because you’re mad at Louis doesn’t mean you can be a dick to me about it.”

Harry was silent for just a moment before shutting the fridge and turning to face her. “Did you happen to knock your little head somewhere? You’re getting a bit brave, don’t you think?” He took a step towards her, clearly trying to intimidate her. “You should probably watch how you talk to me.”

A tremble shook through her body, but she never broke eye contact. “Why did what he said upset you so bad?”

“His ‘theory’?” he laughed, using air quotes around the word. “That I care for you? You and I both know that’s not true, right?” Kat stayed quiet. “Right?” His voice came a bit louder as if he was trying to force a response out of her.

Finally, she shrugged and padded past him towards the fridge, all without an answer. After grabbing the milk from the shelf, she made her way back to her coffee. “You know that I don’t.” She poured a splash of the liquid into her cup and returned the container back to its spot. “I don’t care about you, okay?”

His eyes were glued on her when she finally looked up towards him. “Okay,” she shrugged again, stirring her coffee. “Why do you feel the need to repeat it so many times?”

There were very few moments where Harry was speechless, but this was one of them. The normally self-assured boy was sputtering for a response, and Kat took a bit too much pride in it. “You’re fucking maddening, do you know that?” he finally spat. His whole body tensed up as he glared down at her.

He was behaving like a child who wasn’t getting his way, like a kid who had just been caught by his parents in a total lie. So, instead of feeding into it and giving him the reaction he wanted, Kat picked up her coffee mug and gave him one final shrug.

“That’s your own problem. I just asked a simple question.” She turned to walk out into the living room, Harry close at her heels.

“Stop!” he shouted. 

“What am I doing?” Kat sat down on the couch and sipped her steaming coffee before glancing up towards him.

Again he was lost for words, and the frustration was starting to take over. “Just... You’re- Dammit, you’re being ridiculous!”

“I am not!” she laughed, only further infuriating him. “Harry, all I asked was why you thought you had to say it so many times. If it’s true like you say, you should only have to say it once.”

“You didn’t seem to get it when I said it the first time.”

“Oh, I got in. I got it last night, but when you repeat yourself like that, it makes it seem like you’re trying to convince not only me, but yourself.”

Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Yeah, well that’s not what I was going for. I don’t care about you, at all.”

Kat smirked against the lip of her mug. “I think I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve said it.”

“It’s a shock that no one’s made an attempt on your life before me,” he mumbled as he padded back into the kitchen. Kat could only laugh in response. After a few moments, Harry returned to the living room with a bowl of cereal and milk, and chose to plop down on the other end of the couch.

The silence that fell over them was an uncomfortable one, like most of the hush-hush moments were around them. There were so many questions that still remained unanswered and it was obvious both parties were just trying to figure out how to approach them, but neither did. Finally, Kat broke the silence with a sigh as she shifted in her seat.

“What’s on your mind, princess?” Harry slurred, a bit of cereal falling from his mouth back into his bowl.

Kat made a face, but chose not to press her luck with a comment towards it. “It’s nothing,” she shrugged. She took a small sip of the cooling coffee, savoring the feeling as it coated her throat. It was something comforting in a mostly unpleasant situation, and she appreciated it wholeheartedly.

Harry took another bite, swallowing this time before speaking. “It’s something. Spill.”

While taking a mouthful of her coffee, she mulled over how to start this conversation. After downing the rest of the drink, she placed her mug on the coffee table and turned to look at him. “Why did we have to run so fast?”

The interest that he was displaying disappeared shockingly fast. “That’s not important.”

“You asked me what was on my mind.”

He snorted out a breathy laugh, pulling in another bite of cereal. “I figured it was going to be something excruciatingly ‘Kat-like’. ‘Oh, what are you _feeling_?’ ‘I studied psychology, so you _interest_ me.” He huffed out another laugh, completely proud of himself.

“You’re so funny.” Kat rolled her eyes and continued, “So, why did we have to run so fast? You came in that night, all frantic and whatever. What scared you so bad that we had to run right then?”

“Nothing scared me,” he shot back, snapping his gaze to her. She waited expectantly and he eventually sighed. “We really shouldn’t talk about this.”

“Harry, come on. You’ve kept me in the dark long enough about all of this.”

“And that’s the way it should be.”

“You know what?” Kat stood up and grabbed her empty cup. “I can’t force you to talk to me, but all of these secrets make it hard for me to trust you or Louis when you tell me I’m ‘safer’ with you two.” She trudged into the kitchen to drop her mug into the sink.

A few moments later, a soft voice from the doorway grabbed her attention. “They’re after me now, too.”

The vulnerability that hid behind the words was what initially startled Kat, not even the words themselves. But then, when she looked past his tone, the meaning behind his response became very obvious. She slowly turned around, taking in Harry’s form slouching against the doorframe. He was staring at her, and was trying to gauge her reaction to what he had just said.

“Who, exactly?” she questioned slowly.

Harry placed the bowl of milk onto the counter, but didn’t move from his spot in the door. “The organization,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“The organization? They’re after you?” He nodded. “But why?”

“Because I didn’t kill you. Because you are still breathing.”

Kat didn’t fully understand. She shook her head, her eyebrows creasing together. “But why are they after you and not just me?”

Before answering, Harry nodded his head in the direction of the living room, and started to make his way back to the couch. When they were both seated once more, Harry pulled in a deep breath. 

“When you do what I’ve done, letting a target live and getting involved,” he clarified, “they view you as a threat, basically. You’re making it possible for the whole setup to come crashing down. You run the risk of uncovering the whole organization to the public, which means people start to get caught and arrested.” Harry took a moment to lick his lips before continuing. “When you do what I’ve done, you get marked.”

“And... you’re marked? What does that mean now?”

He exhaled a laugh. “It means they’re not only after your blood, but mine too. They’ve sent Josh after me.”

“How do you know for sure though?”

“That’s where I went that night. I went to their main meeting spot and essentially tried to talk some sense into them. Asked them to call Josh off.” Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “They informed me I was obviously kicked out of the group. They wouldn’t call Josh off. They told him to bring us both back to them, and they’d finish us off on their own.”

Kat swallowed hard at the thought of meeting the people that were over Harry. Meeting a murderer was one thing, but meeting the “boss” of the murderer is whole other experience. “So,” she started when she finally pushed down the lump in her throat, “what does this mean?”

“They gave us a head start. What saints, right?” Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. “They’re all for sport. It’s a big game to them. But to be honest, I don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s a waiting game.”

“We can’t just stay here forever,” Kat murmured. She hadn’t necessarily meant for the words to come from her mouth, as they had just been a thought running through her mind, but Harry heard her and laughed softly.

“Yeah, I know that,” he chuckled. Fear was starting to settle in its permanent home in Kat’s chest, and here Harry was, laughing like it was no big deal. She took a quick breath and dropped her gaze. “What is it?”

She shook her head, not bothering to look back up towards him. “I have no way to save myself. If he finds me, I’m dead.”

“I’m not going to let hi-”

“What if you’re not there someday, Harry?” she cut in, her voice growing a bit louder. “You can’t keep me forever. There’s going to come a day where you’re not there to ‘protect’ me, or whatever, and he’s going to find me.” She finally jerked her eyes back towards him. “You’re the one who said he would stop at nothing to finish this, which means I’m already dead.”

She expected him to roll his eyes and tell her she was overreacting, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded slowly. Without answering, Harry stood up and started for the stairs. “Where are you going?” Kat called after him.

“We’ll talk in a bit. I’ve got something to do.” And just like that, he left her alone.

_It was becoming less and less likely that I was going to make it out of this situation alive, but so far, I had beaten the odds. I had managed to survive Harry, but according to him, Josh was quite a different force to be reckoned with. I think what scared me the most was the fact of how nervous he seemed. There were not many things that shook Harry, but having this group turned against him was definitely something that did._

_I didn’t know what the future held for me. However, there was one thing for certain. If I had been told that I would be on a train, going to finish what he started, I would have laughed. Doing something like this? That wasn’t me._

_It wasn’t._

A few hours later, Kat was sitting in the guest room, cross legged on the bed, with her poetry book on her lap. It was the first chance she had gotten to sit down and be engulfed in the one thing that was never changing in her life. Everything else was a mess, but Lewis Carroll’s words still held tried-and-true.

She was halfway through her favorite, “Jabberwocky”, when a knock at her door stole her attention. “Yeah? Come in,” she responded, closing the book. After a second, the door opened, revealing Louis standing there. “Louis? Hey. What’s up?”

Louis offered a polite smile before walking farther into the room. “Just came to check on you. What are you up to?”

“Just reading.” Kat held up the book as Louis sat down on the side of the bed.

“Lewis Carroll, hm? Why do you like him so much?”

Louis took the book from her hands and flipped through a few pages, waiting for Kat to answer him. “Well,” she started with a shrug, “the poetry he writes is completely nonsensical. The only person it made complete sense to was himself. But when people read it, they’re able to take it and find their own personal story out of it. Well, I do, at least.”

Louis glanced up towards her and smiled. “Yeah? What do you get out of this stuff?”

“I guess it just shows that you can make sense of something that doesn’t really have a reason to make sense. You can figure something out that isn’t really supposed to be figured out. Someone else may not be able to understand it one bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong that you do.”

“Damn,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Harry wasn’t kidding about the psychologist mindset, was he?”

After a silent moment, Kat spoke in a small voice, “He told me why we came here.”

“That’s a surprise, but I guess it explains why he asked me to come get you.”

“What do you mean?”

Louis stood from the bed and turned to face her, a smirk on his lips. “I believe it’s time for your first training session.”

Moments later, she found herself in Louis’ soggy backyard, facing the woods that lined his property. His home sat miles away from any other house, which made it the perfect hideout. He seemed to enjoy being secluded away from the rest of society, and for Louis, the location of his home was absolutely ideal.

Harry stood in front of Kat, a small, black case in his hand. “What exactly are we doing?” Kat asked, pulling the hood of her jacket over her head to protect herself from the rain. The sky was veiled by a sheet of grey clouds and the rain had been sporadically falling throughout the day. It wasn’t the model day to be outside at all, but there they were, getting drenched.

“You need to know how to defend yourself if there’s ever a time where I’m not around to do it for you.”

Kat huffed out a breath, trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Are you serious? You’re really going to teach me how to defend myself?”

“Yeah?” Harry glanced over his shoulder towards the girl. His face was twisted in confusion until realization struck him and he laughed. “Oh, I see. You’re wondering why I would teach you to fight against me, right?” Kat dropped her gaze, avoiding the patronizing look in Harry’s eyes. “Love, if I’m the one teaching you, I‘m going to know whatever move you’re going to pull before you even think about pulling it. I think it’s smart for you not to try anything funny.”

“I wasn’t- I mean-”

Harry smirked as he watched her babble in front of him for a few more moments. Finally, he shook his head, ending her misery. “Rule of thumb, you shouldn’t stammer. You make a much more convincing argument if you speak strong and loud.”

Kat crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight to one foot. “Oh,” she laughed, “so now we’re giving each other life lessons? What about the one where you don’t murder people?”

“I guess I missed that one, huh princess?” The urge overtook Kat and her eyes rolled before she could stop them. “Hey,” he warned, dropping the case he was holding by his feet, “cut the attitude. I don’t have to do any of this.”

“Then why are you?”

He sighed as he leaned over and unlocked the case. “Because if anyone’s going to kill you, it’s going to be me.” As he spoke, he propped the top of the case open, revealing a small handgun inside. “Have you ever shot a gun before?”

Eyeing the weapon, Kat took in a small breath. “A few times?” Harry glanced up towards the girl after lifting the item from the case, raising a speculative eyebrow. “Okay, fine,” she sighed, dropping her arms. “Once.”

“Which means we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Well, maybe I’m a natural?”

This time, Harry was the one who rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause you couldn’t even fight me off in the alley that night.”

For a moment, Kat was speechless. It wasn’t that what he said shocked her or anything, but it was the fact that at his words, the memories resurfaced to the forefront of his mind, and all she could think about was the feeling of cold, deadly metal pressed to her throat.

Quickly, she cleared her throat and wound her arms around herself again. “Shut up,” she mumbled, her tone gruff.

Harry flicked his gaze from the weapon in his hands towards her and back again. “Bother you to think about that?”

“What? You almost killing me?” The words came out before she could control them, but instead of getting angry like she expected, Harry didn’t offer a response. Kat let out a small breath and spoke again, “I know you think I’m- I don’t know- weak, or whatever, but that really fucks a person up. It should be obvious.”

Harry still didn’t reply. He turned the gun over in his hands a few times before leaning down and picking up a suppressor from inside the case. The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes before Kat sighed again. “So, what, are you not talking to me now?”

“Shut up,” he murmured, turning the gun over again. He then twisted the device onto the threaded barrel of the gun.

“You asked me a question. I answered.”

“And now we’re done talking about it.” He finally looked up from the gun. “That’s how this works. I ask a question, and you answer.” Kat opened her mouth to protest, but Harry stopped her with a shake of his head. “What bothers you more?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Almost dying, or _letting_ it happen?”

Her jaw dropped open slightly. “What?”

“It’s just infuriating to think about. Most people put up a hell of a fight when they know they’re about to die. The only time you even attempted was when I had my back turned to go to the toilet. That was the easy thing to do.”

“So you’re going to judge me for thinking I had no reason to fight?”

“Everyone has a reason to fight.” He shoved the gun in her direction, handle facing her. “It’s time you find yours.”

Kat stared at the gun in Harry’s hand without making a move. “I’m not taking that,” she finally said, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

“Yeah, you are. I’m going to teach you how to shoot.”

“But isn’t that illegal?”

Harry’s hand dropped slightly as his face went slack. “Kat,” he exhaled, his tone blunt, “you are speaking to a murderer, and you’re staying in the house of a notorious computer hacker. Did you _really_ just ask me if something was illegal?”

She remained motionless for a few more moments before finally sighing and taking the gun. “So, what am I supposed to do?”

“First, realize that I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart.” Kat started to laugh, but the glare he directed towards her stopped her dead in her tracks. “I don’t have to do this,” he continued, “but I can tell you’re worried, and with good reason.”

“Okay, you’re doing it because you’re such a good person.” Harry scowled. “What else?”

“You know what? Never mind.” Harry rolled his eyes and reached for the gun again. Kat took a step back. “Give me the gun. You’re not taking this seriously.”

“No, come on. I was kidding.”

“We don’t have time to kid. This is serious, Kat.” They locked eyes, and it was obvious just how critical this was to him. “They _will_ kill you if they find you. If Josh doesn’t kill you first, he’ll take you back to the head group and you’ll only wish it was him who finished you off.”

Kat looked towards the ground as Harry pulled in a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Please teach me?”

The only sound around them came from the trickling of the rain that continued to fall. Neither of them moved, and just when Kat was about to sigh and give in, Harry cleared his throat. “Promise me you’ll take this more seriously.”

She nodded quickly. “I promise.”

With his lips pressed into a hard line, Harry slipped his hands into his hair and began brushing the wet locks back away from his head. He pulled the ends together and secured them with a hair tie from his wrist, creating a bun at the back of his head. Then, he cracked a smile in her direction. “You’ll love this.”

Harry grabbed a magazine from the case before placing a hand on the small of her back and guiding her to the edge of the woods. “Now, you see that target?” He motioned towards a small paper target that hung from a low hanging branch a bit away. “I put it there before calling you out here. I want you to aim and shoot it the best you can, okay?” 

Harry pulled two pairs of earplugs from his pocket and stepped behind her. “You’ll need these,” he said softly before pushing them into her ears. She couldn’t help but shiver slightly as one of his hands slipped onto her shoulder. “There.”

“I thought silencers were supposed to make them quiet.”

Harry laughed as he put his own earplugs in. “Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, princess.”

She smiled only slightly before glancing up at him. “Now, just shoot it?”

He nodded and handed the magazine towards her. “Load the gun and shoot the target.”

Kat held the gun in her right hand, and tilted it to the side so she could slide the magazine into place. Easy enough. She felt Harry’s eyes on her as she looked over the gun. It was obvious that she had no idea what she was doing, so Harry stepped back beside her. “What you want to do now that you’ve got the magazine in place is to pull the slide back and get a round into the chamber.”

He gentled guided his hand to hold her right arm up, and reached out for her left hand. “Grab the slide,” he murmured right in her ear, steering her hand towards the slide. She grabbed it like he directed. “Then, you pull it back, and the round will pop up.” He forced her hand back, which then allowed the bullet to pop into the chamber.

“Now, you’re not going to aim anywhere but at that target, okay? There are eight bullets in here, and I want you to count as you shoot so you know how many have been fired.”

“What if I miss?”

“You probably will, but that’s why we’re training.” Harry took a step back and added, “I don’t expect you to do well this first time. The suppressor makes it tougher to aim anyways, but try your best.”

Kat took a deep breath and nodded, gripping the gun tight. “Oh, move your thumb,” Harry instructed, stepping back up behind her. He reached forward and guided her left hand away from the back of the slide. “That would have hurt. Now, let’s see how you do.”

After another long breath, Kat aimed the gun towards the target. Then, she felt her finger slip into the trigger and she began counting. _Shoot._ “One.” Miss. _Shoot._ “Two.” Miss. _Shoot._ “Three.” Miss.

This went on five more times, and she missed every one. Behind her, Harry chuckled. “Just as I thought, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

They spent the next hour and a half shooting. Kat was starting to get frustrated, as was Harry, since she had only hit the target once. “Just let me go back inside,” she groaned, dropping the gun back into the case after taking the magazine out.

“No, come on,” he urged. “We’re going to get this.”

“It’s not going to happen in a day! I’m cold, I’m wet, and I’m hungry. We can continue later.”

Kat turned to walk back into the house, but Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “What if we don’t have later?”

“Just let me go!”

“No!” he shouted, glaring at her. “You’re going to pick that gun back up, and we’re going to get this.”

“Wanna bet?” Kat jerked backwards, successfully slipping out of his grip. She quickly turned on her heel and started towards the house.

Just as she reached the backdoor, Harry’s voice caught her attention. “Weak.”

She knew she should walk into the house right then. She should have ignored what he said, but she couldn’t. Slowly, Kat turned back around and stared at the boy. “That got your attention, huh?”

“You think I’m weak?”

“I don’t think you’re weak,” he hissed, taking a step towards her. “I know it.”

Everything around her began to dissipate, her vision focusing purely on him. “What?” she asked, even though she knew exactly what he had said. 

“You heard me. You’re weak. You give in so easily with everything you do. You didn’t even offer up a fight that night.” Another step, and he was right in front of her. “I had you pinned against that wall, and you couldn’t even offer a decent show.”

“You had a fucking knife pressed to my throat,” she growled. Her fists clenched at her sides as she took an involuntary step away from him. “What did you expect?”

He coughed out a loud laugh, closing the gap between them once more. “Not shit from you.”

Kat took another step back and shook her head. “Just drop it. I’m done with this for today.”

“There you go again,” he chuckled. “Too scared to even realize the truth. You’re weak, Kat. You always have been, and you always will be.”

“I’m not weak!” she shouted. “I am NOT weak!”

Harry’s eyes brightened slightly as a smirk toyed with his lips. He quickly hid it and snarled as best as he could at her. “You had so much promise! I wanted you to fucking fight me that night! Throw a few punches, maybe even kick me! But guess what? Just like EVERY other time in your poor pitiful life, you took the easy way out!”

“Easy way out?! You think I take the EASY way out?!”

“No,” he laughed, “I know you do.”

“You don’t know me, you son of a bitch.” This time, Kat took a step towards Harry. “You may know about my life, and my family, or whatever else, but you don’t know _me_ , and you never will. So stop pretending like you do.”

Harry sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “That poor family. You left them. You ran. Just like that brother of yours, right?”

Kat’s jaw clenched tight. She felt hot tears sting her eyes as she stood there, staring at Harry in shock. She wanted to turn around and leave it at that; she knew she would be better off. But the smirk that pulled Harry’s lips up in one corner set her off more than she expected. Her hands collided with his broad shoulders in an attempt to send him tumbling backwards, but instead only resulted in a few staggering steps.

“Ah, there we go,” he smiled. “Mark, right? That’s his name? He ran from you, didn’t he? You learned it from him.”

“Shut up!” she cried, slamming her hands into his shoulders once more. He took another step back as he stared at the seething girl in front of him.

“What’d you do to make him run? Because it was you, right? You’re the one that made him want to run so fucking far away just so he could get away from you.”

Kat took a quick step forward, lunging towards him again. This time, before she made contact, Harry took a step away from her. “Come on princess, why’d he run? Give me the reason.” Kat gasped in a breath and dove at him again, barely missing him as he side stepped. She was trying desperately to shut him up, but the tears that were starting to fill her eyes made it almost impossible to see his darting figure. 

“Let me guess,” he offered, stepping behind her to whisper in her ear, “it was because you were fucking _weak_ and he knew it.”

Kat spun around, finally finding his shoulders again and thrusting him backwards. This time, it took him slightly by surprise and he stumbled momentarily. “You’re not allowed to speak about him!” she screamed, barreling towards the stunned boy. Before he could orient himself, she had already collided with him again.

“Why?!” he yelled back at her equally as loud. After setting his footing firmly underneath him, Harry grabbed Kat’s forearms before she had a chance to push him again. “Why can’t I talk about your pitiful excuse for a brother?!”

Kat jerked herself backwards, trying to free herself from his grasp. Harry’s grip didn’t budge an inch. “Because he’s not YOURS to talk about!”

“You know what?” Harry growled, his jaw tensing as he tightened his hands around her wrists. “He was just as weak as you are.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Kat felt the anger that was simmering in the pit of her stomach boil up over the edge. She ripped her arms from Harry’s hands, and in one swift movement, she hauled her fist back and slammed it as hard as she could manage into the glaring face in front of her.

The cracking sound of fist meeting face could barely be heard over the pulsing of her own heartbeat, but Kat surely felt it. After hissing a breath between her teeth, Kat jerked her arm back and cradled it against her chest, letting out a small whine.

“You,” Harry started, reaching a hand up to swipe a bit of blood from his bottom lip, “you hit me.” The blood spread onto his fingertips as he glanced towards the girl. “You just fucking punched me.”

Kat could feel the blood drain straight from her cheeks as the realization struck her. She had just punched the guy who had attempted to take her life more than once. And, to add on to that, she had successfully busted his lip.

“Harry, I- I just got upset. I didn’t mean to... oh god,” she whimpered, still nursing her wounded hand.

“You just busted my lip.” He touched his lip again, and stared at the blood. “You punched me, and busted my lip.”

She felt like she could throw up at any moment. She had seen him pissed off before, but all of those times, she hadn’t physically harmed him like this. She could only imagine how Harry would react. It was only a matter of time before he would explode, and she knew she should ready herself for the consequences.

Just before she contemplated spinning around on her heel and running, Harry shook his head and laughed, the light sound coming out in breaths. “Why are you... You’re laughing.” She dropped her arms to her sides and stared at him.

“You’ve got a good arm on you, princess.” Harry swiped the back of his hand against his lip to wipe away the blood. “But the only problem is that I had to really get under your skin before you would throw a punch. When you’ve got someone coming at you, you’ve got to be ready to fight at any second.”

Her mind was still playing catchup as he spoke. “Wait. So you purposefully made me mad so I would hit you?”

He shrugged. “I really wanted to see you lose it, but I’ll settle for what I can get. It’s something, at least.”

“Are you fucking crazy?”

This time, his laughter came out loud, his eyes squinting nearly closed. “Maybe,” he exhaled after catching his breath. “Probably. More than likely, yeah.”

Kat sighed as the throbbing in her hand continued to beg for attention. “Think I broke my hand,” she grumbled, holding it to her chest again.

“Lemme see it.” Before she could protest, Harry stepped forward and pulled it towards him, careful not to hurt it even worse. “Yeah, it’s starting to swell,” he spoke mainly to himself. “I don’t think you broke it though. Maybe a crack or something, but it’s nothing bad. Come on, we’ll get some ice on it. You deserve a break.”

She wasn’t going to fight with him on that. She watched as he quickly gathered all of his stuff and started for the house. When they walked in, Louis was sitting on the couch, watching a random television show until he flicked his gaze towards them. He did a double take when he saw Harry’s swollen lip.

“Uh,” he raised an eyebrow, “you alright there?” He then looked over towards Kat, taking in her injured hand. “Did you punch him?” he laughed.

A smile quirked her lips as Harry glanced towards her. He almost looked like a proud father would after his son ran for a touchdown in the big football game. He was absolutely beaming. “I did,” she replied proudly, a small laugh breaking through her words.

Louis shook his head, another laugh escaping. “I’m beginning to like you more and more every day, love.”

_And there it was. The beginning of something that even now I can’t begin to explain. We formed this weird friendship, the three of us. After that, Harry began showing me the tricks of the trade, throwing in life lessons here and there whenever he saw fit. It was like he was training me for something he knew was bound to happen. Maybe he knew something I didn’t._

 _Whatever the case, before this, before_ him, _I wasn’t a person who would do something like this. I_ wasn’t, _but I am now._


	21. Chapter 21

“How much more are we doing today?” Kat groaned, twisting her upper body to stretch the muscles.

Harry raised his arms above his head and laughed as he stretched as well. “You haven’t got one hit on me yet,” he replied and dropped his arms to his side. “We’ll be done when you can move faster than me.”

“Oh come on.” Harry’s smile grew as Kat continued, “You’ve been doing this for years! There’s no way we’re going to get there in a day.”

“Well then I guess you’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

It had been a week and a half since the first time Kat threw a punch at harry, and he hadn’t let down since. He had seen what she had inside of her and he wanted to bring it out as much as he could. Apparently, he thought the best way to do that was to take her out in the backyard day after day and hound her until he got a reaction.

“Okay, we’re going to try something.” Harry stepped in front of Kat, instantly turning serious. “I want you to come at me.”

Kat stood there, staring at him in utter confusion. “Come at you?” she repeated.

“Come at me. Just... take a go. I want to show you how to defend yourself if someone does the same to you. Throw a punch at me or something.”

“You want me to punch you again?”

“If you can make it that far.”

Kat raised an eyebrow and Harry smirked challengingly. “I busted your lip last time, might I remind you.”

“You took me by surprise. You won’t be able to make contact this time.”

Now, it was Kat’s turn to smirk. She planted her feet firmly underneath herself and held her arms up in an attack stance, staring up at Harry. It was weird for her to be up against someone who could very well kill her at any moment. He was much bigger than her, in both height and broadness, and it was incredibly intimidating to be looking up and seeing what you’re up against.

But it almost gave her a strange sense of power. Here she was, learning from someone who knew more defense techniques than she could count. She was learning from one of the best. Hopefully, she thought, because of this, she would be ready if and when she ever had to use anything Harry was teaching her.

“Ready?” she exhaled, curling her hands into fists.

“Go for it, princess.”

Before the nickname was completely out of his mouth, Kat swung hard towards the side of his jaw. She hoped to catch him off-guard, which was a very rare occurrence. Instead of the feeling of her knuckles cracking against bone, she felt his forearm slide against the back of her arm, deflecting her punch towards the side of his body. Then, he laughed.

“Told you. Do it again.”

Kat pulled back away from him and readied herself once more before swinging. The same thing happened. A frustrated breath was forced from her lungs as she dropped her arms and shook them at her sides. “Again,” he instructed, still grinning.

Three more punches were blocked, each exasperating Kat even worse. “Come on, Kat.” Harry hopped from one foot to the other. He was clearly excited because he could see the growing rage bubbling inside of her. Eventually, she would make contact with his jaw and he could keep pushing her past her limit, just to see how far he could go with it. He was banking on that happening.

“Come on,” he urged a little louder. “You can do this!”

Kat pulled in a heavy breath and rolled her neck once, blowing the breath out when she was finished. She raised her arms back in their defensive stance as she clenched her fists tight.

And then, with as much force as she could muster, she sent her fist soaring towards his face.

However, when Harry’s arm slipped against her own, the force of her own punch threw her off balance. She kept moving in the direction of her arm, off to the left, and ended up slipping against the wet grass underneath her feet. She fell to the ground on her hands and knees.

The only thing she heard was the sound of Harry’s booming laugh crashing around her, and if she hadn’t been in a bit of pain, she probably would have laughed as well. Her right knee, which seemed to have taken the brunt of the fall, was screaming out underneath her.

“I guess I swept you off your feet, didn’t I?” Harry gasped, slapping a hand down on his leg.

With a hiss, Kat pushed herself into a sitting position and glanced down towards her leg. Her jeans were all muddy and grass stained, and a bright spot of blood started to spread on the right knee.

Immediately, Harry’s laughter ceased. “Hey, are you alright?” He quickly dropped to his knees beside her and started to check her over. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“I’m okay,” Kat sighed, wiping her hands on the thighs of her jeans. “I think I just skinned my knee.”

“Come on, let’s take you inside and get you cleaned up.”

Kat shook her head quickly. “No, I’m fine.” Before Harry could protest, Kat forced herself onto her feet, wincing from the pain. Harry didn’t budge. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making sure you’re okay. You took a pretty hard fall.” Harry stared at her warily as he stood up. If she had allowed herself to think about it, she would have been thrown off by the fact that it wasn’t like him to be concerned at all. It would have been sort of nice, too. But that’s not what she wanted right then. She wanted to prove herself, once and for all.

“Are we going to fight, or are you just going to stand there staring?”

For a moment, Harry’s eyes went wide, but soon his smile returned. “Bring it on, princess.”

This time, Kat pulled out all the stops. She swung her right fist, grazing his chin only slightly. Before she gave too much thought, she threw her left fist forward, finally making full contact with his jaw. A satisfying crack rang out between the two, but instead of ending the round, it fueled both of them.

Kat went in for another left hook, which was deflected by Harry. She stumbled slightly, and in the time that it took her to orient herself, Harry had moved behind her, tangling his arms around her waist.

“What are you going to do now?” he hissed hot in her ear as his lips pressed against the shell. “I’ve got you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The couple stumbled as Harry began trying to force her backwards. Panic was starting to set in Kat’s mind, even if it was only Harry behind her. Her fight or flight reaction was screaming at her to do anything to get the hell out of the situation.

An elbow to the stomach was the first thing she thought of. She twisted her body as much as she could to get decent access to his middle, and sent her elbow crashing into him. He flinched as he let out an agonized groan. 

Without giving him any chance to catch up, Kat quickly stepped to her right and forced her left foot behind his right one, sending him off balance. His arms released her body and she stepped out of the way. Without her standing there, Harry lost his footing and fell to the ground, landing on the concrete patio with a loud thud.

The noise itself told Kat that what had happened wasn’t good. When Harry didn’t immediately move, or even open his eyes, she knew it was worse than that. “Harry?” She leaned over him and gave his shoulder a gentle shake. Nothing.

She felt her heart drop to her stomach. She no longer felt like a badass. She felt scared once again, something that she was quite frankly tired of feeling.

Her body jumped into action and she sprinted to the backdoor. “Louis!” she screamed. “Louis, help!” After a second, his footsteps were heard thudding down the stairs. His panicked face appeared at the bottom and the color instantly drained from it when he saw the state she was in.

“You shot him,” he presumed, his eyes huge. “I fucking knew it would happen! Was it an accident? I told him!” Louis rushed past her.

“I didn’t... I didn’t shoot him, for Christ sake!”

He paused only momentarily before shaking his head. “What did you do then?!” Louis finally got to the patio and his eyes found Harry’s unmoving figure sprawled out on the ground. A small groan gurgled from the back of Harry’s throat as Louis rushed over.

“We were... we were fighting and I don’t know. He grabbed me from behind and so I tried to get him off of me and I guess he lost his balance or something and he slipped and fell and I swear to God I didn’t mean to!”

“I know you didn’t mean to!” Louis crouched down beside Harry and touched a hand to his cheek. “Mate, come on. Open your eyes.”

“Tell me he’s okay!” Kat rang her hands together, staring at the two boys. “Louis!”

Harry’s eyes clenched tighter. “Shut up,” he moaned. Kat felt her heart jolt as his eyes finally flicked open.

“Thought she had finally taken you out,” Louis laughed, giving Harry’s cheek a light slap. “Let’s get you up.” They interlocked hands and Harry finally stood up with his friend’s help. When he straightened up, his eyes snapped back closed as he jerked a hand up to his forehead.

“Fuck,” he breathed. His shoulders slumped forward.

Louis peered at the back of Harry’s head and made a face. “Yeah, you’ve got a serious bump there. You’re bleeding a bit.”

Kat let Louis tow the stumbling boy past her into the house, and she followed close behind once they were inside. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. She swallowed hard as Louis helped Harry sit down on the couch. “I swear I didn’t mean t-”

“Would you stop apologizing?” Harry finally opened his eyes fully and looked up at her. “You did exactly what I asked you to do. You defended yourself.” Then, as if what he had just said wasn’t enough, Harry continued, “I’m proud of you.”

Why did four words stun her so bad? More importantly, why did they make her _happy_? She got his approval and it felt better than she could have ever imagined. Her heart raced in her chest and she felt the semblance of a smile pull at her lips. She didn’t even listen to her mind as it was demanding her to realize what she was doing. She didn’t care that it was crazy. She was happy, because she had made him happy.

Louis walked out from the kitchen with an ice pack and a wet washcloth, which Harry took graciously. “Is your knee okay?” he asked as he pressed the towel wrapped pack to the back of his head. He winced slightly, and then relaxed. This was the moment Louis took as his time to leave. He slipped quietly behind Kat and made his way up the stairs before either could notice.

“Oh, yeah.” Truthfully, she had completely forgotten her bloodied knee until he asked about it. Everything else had sort of shadowed over it. It seemed like old, forgotten news at that moment.

“Sit. Let me look at it.” Kat sat down next to Harry on the couch as he straightened up. “Hold this,” he murmured softly, handing her the ice pack. Before she realized what was going on, Harry grabbed her right left and pulled it into his lap. The material of her jeans was gently pushed up past the injury so he could get a better look at it.

It wasn’t bad at all, in her opinion. There had been far worse injuries in her past. She had learned how to clean them herself, and her aversion to blood that had been overwhelming before the incident didn’t bother her nearly as bad. She was able to change out her dressings and the injuries were healing quite nicely.

Suddenly, Louis bounded down the stairs towards the front door. “Hey Curly, I’m heading out to get the supplies. Need anything else?”

“No, just what we talked about earlier.” Harry threw a smile over his shoulder towards Louis, who nodded before walking out the door.

“Where’s he going?” Kat asked as Harry glanced back towards her.

“Don’t worry about it.” Before she could press the issue any more, Harry grabbed the cold washcloth and touched it to the skin of her knee.

Kat sucked in a quick breath as she jerked her leg back from the assailing object. “That’s cold!”

Harry chuckled, “Its cold water, Kat. I’ve got to clean this up.” After a few moments, Kat sighed and placed her leg back in his reach. “Really skinned it up, didn’t you?”

“Well, if you wouldn’t have jumped out of the way.”

“I didn’t jump out of the way. I deflected your punch.”

“You just didn’t want to get your ass kicked by me again.”

Harry’s hands stopped moving on her legs. His lip twitched just barely as he looked over towards her. “You didn’t kick my ass.”

“I did.” Kat grinned. “Twice.”

He couldn’t fight it any longer. The smile that he was trying so hard to bite back broke across his lips. “Okay, so you beat me.” Harry shrugged his shoulders and went back to wiping at her knee. “Good move, by the way. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I know.” Kat maneuvered herself a tad bit closer to Harry as she relaxed on the couch. “Honestly, I didn’t know what I had done until you were laying there on the ground. I just... knew I had to get out of the situation.”

“Why didn’t you pull something like that the night I took you?” For a second, everything was silent. Kat didn’t have an answer for him, because she wasn’t even sure.

Kat cleared her throat quickly in a desperate attempt to break the tension. “Hey, don’t worry about me. You’re the one with the head injury.”

She tried to hand over the ice pack and move her knee, but he grasped her shin, forcing her to stay still. “I’m fine,” he replied. “Let me finish cleaning this and I’ll ice my head.”

Kat knew she should just listen to him and let him do his job, but instead, she awkwardly lifted the ice pack and rested it on the back of his head.

Harry stopped moving yet again, instantly turning into a rigid statue, and Kat was afraid she had fucked up. She readied herself for whatever harsh words were sure to come at her. Surprisingly though, they never came. Instead, Harry let out a content sigh and relaxed against the back of the couch.

The two of them satin silence for a while, but it wasn’t like all of the others. It wasn’t an uncomfortable one that Kat felt she needed to get out of. It wasn’t some tension filled cloud that hung over them dreadfully. It was easy and soothing, something they both needed at that point.

There was something calming about taking care of someone, no matter who it was. Kat had Harry’s comfort in the palm of her hand. She was making him feel better, and it was all her. It was oddly satisfying. She had always been one to help others, more specifically, her brother. That was the last time she had felt this way. Scarily enough, it was the last time she _wanted_ to do this for someone, up until this point.

Something was changing, as much as she hated to notice.

“I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up.”

His words snapped her from the gentle placidity she was falling into. She jerked her gaze over towards him, expecting some sort of explanation. However, it didn’t seem he was going to elaborate any further. “What?”

His chest rose and fell once as he took a breath. “I said,” he started, leaning over her leg to place the cloth on the coffee table in front of them, “I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up.”

“I heard that, but why did you say it?”

Harry settled back against the cushion with a shrug. “Don’t know. Thought you should know.”

“I guess it makes sense, though.” As she spoke, Harry raised his hand up towards the ice pack and grabbed it from her, replacing it on the injury. “You’re also so... careful when it comes to wounds. Cleaning them and such.”

“I wanted to work in trauma,” he replied. He glanced over for a split second. “Got kind of jumbled up though, didn’t I?”

It was then that Kat noticed something she hadn’t before. There was a short-lived emotion that flickered in his eyes, and if she hadn’t been paying attention, she would have completely missed it. He blinked it away as fast as he let it show, though.

“Do you ever miss that?” Kat swallowed hard and let her gaze drop to her lap.

A sigh billowed from his lungs as the hand that wasn’t securing the pack to his head rested on top of her leg, which was still lying across his lap. A small gasp got stuck in her throat, sounding more like a strangled noise than anything else.

“All the time.”

“Then why don’t you get out?” Kat looked back up towards Harry, who had focused his gaze on a spot on the floor, staring it down like is life depended on it.

“Get out?” he repeated, never looking up from the spot.

Kat sighed. “Yes, get out. Leave the group. Stop... murdering.”

When harry finally raised his eyes from the floor, they were the deadly shade that made Kat’s mouth go dry with fear. “Stop murdering. You make it sound so easy.”

“It is. You just... don’t kill.”

“Kat...” Harry looked ready to burst. He clenched his jaw once and closed his eyes. Kat wished she hadn’t said anything, but it was something that had crossed her mind more than a few times. Could he not just put a stop to it and be done with the organization? Could he not just _not kill_?

Just as Kat was expecting him to snap and hurl some insult at her, he took in a deep breath and blew it out just as slow. He was using _the_ breathing technique. The technique she had taught to him. And apparently, it was working. Harry licked his lips before speaking again. “You don’t know what it’s like inside my head...”

“Then tell me.”

He laughed. “No.”

“Well, how do you expect me to help if you don’t tell me what’s going on?”

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but promptly snapped it back closed and furrowed his eyebrows together. “I’m done talking about this,” he finally settled on.

“Bu-”

A warning glance was thrown her way. “Kat.”

And with one utterance of her name, she was silenced.

The heavy hush settled on top of them, turning the air stagnant. It was suffocating, and it was something Kat couldn’t stand. She wanted to somehow break it, but she was almost afraid to press her luck any farther with him. They seemed to be on better terms, if that was even possible. She didn’t want to destroy the weird sense of alliance that was blooming.

Surprisingly though, Harry was the one to break it.

“You shouldn’t want to help me,” he whispered as he leaned forward to place the ice pack on the coffee table. When he sat back, he deiced to lock his eyes on the same place in front of him, resolving that it was the safest thing to do right then.

“I shouldn’t.” She nodded, agreeing with him. Harry turned towards her. “I shouldn’t want to.”

“Exac-”

“I shouldn’t, but I do,” she cut in.

Harry shook his head as she looked towards him. “What are you thinking?” he sighed.

Kat tried to come up with some witty answer that would extinguish the tension around them, but she instead frowned. “I don’t know,” she replied just as softly.

The silent moments were becoming far too much for Kat to handle. They allowed for her to stew and make things worse in her head. This time, it made it possible for her to focus way too hard on his face, which was closer than she would have liked. It forced her to focus on the eyes she had unfortunately caught the gaze of. She concentrated on the tongue that slipped across his bottom lip to wet the chapped skin. The silence made it easy for her to realize just how slowly he was leaning in towards her with every second.

And then, she decided to meet him halfway.

The front door slammed closed and there was someone clearing their throat, causing Harry to quickly push himself away from Kat. “Am I interrupting?” Louis asked with a smirk. Kat shot up from the couch and stood up, turning to stare at the boy by the door.

“No, nothing,” she stammered. Louis simply laughed and carried the bags he was holding into the kitchen.

“What was the damage?” Harry asked through his teeth as he stood up. He was as flustered as Kat was, but was obviously trying to hide it a bit better. Kat followed behind him into the kitchen just as Louis sat the bags on the counter.

Louis shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve needed this for a while. But take this stuff out while I run back out the car. I’ve got a few more bags that I couldn’t grab.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Louis walked out of the kitchen again and Harry started to unload the bags onto the counter.

A large bottle of vodka. Tequila. Lemons and limes.

As Harry went through the items, Kat shook her head. “What’s all this for?”

“Louis knows how to take your mind off things.”

Louis’ voice came from the doorway as he walked back in. “Yep, and it looked like you could use a fun night.”

“So, we’re going to drink?” Kat asked, watching Louis bring over a case of beer and some wine coolers.

“Oh love,” Louis hummed as he sat the cases on the counter, “when you drink with Louis Tomlinson, you don’t just drink. You get pissed.”

“Pissed?” Kat raised an eyebrow.

“Pissed as in wasted. Completely fucked. Shit-faced,” Harry rambled. “Drunk, babe.”

“We’re getting drunk?” she repeated. “Sorry fellas, I don’t drink until I’m drink. Two glasses of wine and I’m out.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Come on. This is a sort of congratulations on your training. Harry and I thought you could relax for a night.”

Kat shrugged. “Like I said. I’ll drink, but I’m not getting drunk.”

Louis waved her off as Harry laughed. “I’m going to shower. Don’t start without me.”

A short time later after Harry and Kat had both showered and dressed in fresh clothing, the trio stood back in the kitchen, staring at the stockpile.

“Alright, ladies and gents, boys and girls, pick your poison,” Louis said, waving his arm towards the selection on the counter. Kat hesitantly reached for a simple green apple wine cooler.

“Aw, come on. Don’t wimp out now,” Harry sighed.

“I’m just getting started! Don’t judge me too harshly yet.” Louis popped the top for her before turning and pouring a shot of vodka.

“Getting a good start there, Lou? Pour me one.” Harry pushed his shot glass towards Louis and he poured some of the liquid into it. Kat glanced at both of them before sighing.

“Fine. Pour me one.” Harry smirked a tad and passed her his shot glass before reaching for the fresh one Louis was pouring.

“To forgetting?” Louis proposed, holding up his glass.

“Hell yes,” Harry laughed. The three tapped their glasses together before throwing back the vodka.

Kat choked the liquid back, letting out a shiver in disgust. “Holy shit, that’s awful!” she coughed as she set the glass down. The boys laughed as they poured another shot. “I think I’ll just stick to the sweet stuff.”

“I think we need some drinking music, don’t you guys?” Harry threw back the second shot ebfore walking out towards the living room. Kat and Louis followed.

“Oh god, Harry, not your shitty indie stuff, please.” Harry ignored Louis’ whining and walked over to the television, turning it on and flipping to a random music channel.

“I been drankin’,” Harry crooned, shimmying his hips. Louis laughed loud.

“Harry secretly loves Beyoncé,” he murmured to Kat. Kat sipped on her wine cooler, watching Harry dance around the living room. “Curly, you’ve only had two shots. You’re not drunk enough to be dancing like that just yet.”

“There’s never a bad time to dance to Bey.” He danced past them into the kitchen and grabbed a beer, quickly popping the top and taking a long drink.

One hour and many drinks later, Harry was sprawled on the couch, pointing at Louis accusatorily. “Youuuu should get a haircut.”

Louis snorted. “You expect me to take that advice seriously coming from you? Your head is a.. a fuckin’ mop!”

Kat giggled quietly as she padded into the kitchen. “What are you doing in there?” Harry called as he pushed himself from the couch.

“Getting another drink,” she stated happily. “Is that okay with you?” She looked up towards Harry once he reached the entrance to the kitchen. His cheeks were completely flushed and his eyes had started to glass over, but overall, he was nowhere near being as drunk as he planned on being that night.

“What are you gonna try this time? Lemme make you something, yeah?” He walked behind her, his had sliding across her lower back as he went.

Usually, Kat never drank hard liquor. She mainly stuck to wine for the sheer fact that when she drank vodka, she completely lost her senses. She had only ever been _drunk_ once before, and that night was the night that she lost her virginity her senior year in high school. Three shots of vodka and two beers and she was hanging off of any guy in the room. But that didn’t stop her this time.

She had already downed four shots as she was trying to catch up the boy’s record of six. However, her stature proved to be a disadvantage, as the alcohol was starting to affect her much sooner than the two of the boys. 

Kat gave a small giggle. “I thinnnk... I think I’ll try some tequila.”

“Hitting the good stuff now,” Harry murmured with a small smile. He reached over for a shot glass but she shook her head.

“I’ve got this.” She grabbed the salt shaker and slowly (maybe a bit too slowly) licked the top of her hand before sprinkling some salt there.

Harry watched her intensely, reaching up to swipe his finger over his bottom lip. After grabbing the tequila bottle, Kat sucked the top of her hand and raised the bottle to her lips, taking a long drink of it. After she swallowed, she grabbed a lime wedge that Louis had cut and stuck it in her mouth, biting down quickly.

“Oh my God,” Harry exhaled, staring at her. Kat clenched her eyes closed and shook her head, laughing with the lime still between her teeth. She finally took it from her mouth before licking her lips.

“Now, lemme see you try.” She slid the bottle towards him on the counter and he laughed.

“You want me to take a tequila shot?” Kat nodded. “Fine, but I’m gonna need some help.” Harry smirked, his eyes focusing in on her. He took her hand before she had a chance to protest and lifted it towards his lips. 

“What are you-” He ran his tongue across the skin of her hand, his eyes locked in on her own. Kat gasped softly, a giggle slipping from her throat. Harry pulled his lips away from her hand and sprinkled some salt onto the spot he had just wetted. 

Then, he took the spot on her hand into his mouth, wrapping his lips around it, and sucked obscenely until he made sure he got every bit of salt from it. After removing his lips from her skin, he took the bottle and tilted it up quick, taking just as long of a drink as he did. He grabbed another lime wedge and put it between his lips when he was finished, biting into it hard.

Harry opened his eyes and smirked when he saw her staring at him. “Like what you just saw there, love?”

“I’m drunk,” she laughed, her head tilting to one side, just proving her point.

“I’m not far behind you.” Harry grabbed another beer and opened it. He took a drink of it before leaning on the counter next to her.

Kat took her wine cooler that she had left sitting on the counter and followed suit, taking a quick pull from the bottle. You guys used to do this a lot?” Harry nodded.

“Mhmm. Favorite pastime. We’d find any reason to get wasted.”

He laughed softly. “You’re such a lightweight. Finish that drink and let’s see how you feel.”

After that drink and one more (or maybe two, she wasn’t sure) Kat couldn’t take anymore. She couldn’t remember why she was drinking in the first place, which was the plan all along.

“How ya feeling over there princessss?” Louis slurred, his voice catching on the last word.

She was slummed in the corner of the couch, her head tilted back off the arm. She raised her hand up and gave Louis a shaky thumbs up. Harry laughed loudly. “Wasted, mhmm. That’s what you are, Kitty Kat.” Kat tried to lift her head up and look at him, but it fell back lazily, eliciting another loud cough of a laugh from Harry.

Louis tossed a throw pillow from his spot on the floor and hit Kat in the chest. She groaned as she pushed herself forward to glare at Harry sitting at the opposite at the end of the couch. “It wasn’t me!” he cackled, holding his hands up.

Louis chimed in quickly in as low of a voice as he could pull off, “It wasn’t me.”

“Saw me bangin’ on the sofa,” Harry replied, shaking his head back and forth with the imaginary beat.

“It wasn’t me.”

“I even had her in the shower!”

“It wasn’t me!”

Harry leaned over on the couch a little too far and fell over right beside Kat. “She even caught me on camera,” he sang out. He slapped his hand against her leg as he tried to contain his laugher.

Louis, on the other hand, was losing it. He fell out in a fit of giggles and followed Harry’s lead, falling over on the floor. “Harrrryyyy,” Kat whined, looking down at him.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Hmmm? What’s wrong, princess?”

“I’m tired. I-” hiccup “I think-” another “I think I’m going to bed.”

“Kat’s going to beeeedddd!” Louis sang out. He was lying completely flat on the floor with his eyes closed, moving his head back and forth. “She can’t hold her own!”

“Shut up Lou!” Harry laughed as he pushed himself slowly to a sitting position. He wobbled slightly for just a moment before steadying himself. “Yeah, come on. I’ll walk you up.” Harry stood up and held his hand out for the girl to take, which she accepted graciously. He helped her up and held on to her, under the image that he was helping her walk. In reality, he could barely stand up as it was.

They made their way up the stairs cautiously, Kat managing to stumble only twice and Harry miraculously none. Louis was still singing from the floor of the living room, just a bit quieter, “How could I forget that I had given her an eeextra keeyyy? All this time she was standing theere she never took her eyes off meeee...”

Kat turned her head just a bit to glance back down the stairs at Louis, but apparently done it just a bit too fast. She began to tilt towards the stairs and couldn’t catch herself before she began to fall.

If she hadn’t been drunk, it wouldn’t have been a problem to catch herself, but her equilibrium was off and there was no use even trying. Kat threw her arms out and gasped, which happened to be when she was already about to the halfway point during her fall.

Thinking quick, Harry grabbed her arms and pulled her back towards him. Kat stumbled into his arms, causing the both to fall back into the hallway. Harry took one step back to balance and turned slightly, and when they stopped, Kat’s back was pressed against the wall with Harry right in front of her.

Kat breathed in quick, relieved that he had caught her, but then she opened her eyes. His eyes were focused directly on her and she felt her heart skip a beat.

If she had been sober, again, it wouldn’t have been a problem to fight this off. But she wasn’t sober. She was fall-flat-on-your-face drunk and there was no saving her this time. Also, the fact that Harry was wasted added fuel to the whole situation.

Harry moved a bit closer to her, pressing both of his hands on either side of her head, trapping her against the wall. “Kat?” he breathed out, his eyes glancing down towards her lips.

“Hmm.” She closed her eyes as her breathing quickened.

His hips pressed against hers slowly, closing the gap between their bodies. “Are you going to stop me this time?”

She choked out a weak “no”.

That was plenty for Harry. He leaned down towards her face and found her lips with his own, bringing a hand up to cup against the side of her face.

Kat pushed her body even closer to Harry’s and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding one hand at the small of her back to hold her hips tight against his own.

Their lips worked in time with one another, pushing and pulling roughly. Harry slowly ran his tongue across Kat’s bottom lip as she moaned into his mouth, causing him to laugh at her. “I like that sound,” he mumbled against her lips. Just to hear it once more, he licked at her lip again, getting the very same reaction.

Kat huffed out a frustrated sigh but didn’t stop kissing him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop, but even if she did, she wasn’t sure if her body would let her.

He pulled from her lips and kissed all along her jaw, his teeth skimming the skin just a bit as he worked his way down to her neck. He pressed a few small kisses right onto her shoulder before moving towards the top of her collarbone. “Jesus Christ, these are sinful.” He wrapped his lips around the spot on her collarbone right at the base of her neck and sucked just hard enough to leave a darkening bruise. “Mine,” he murmured, “all mine.”

Kat’s mind was a blank slate as Harry worked his way back up towards her lips. Nothing was stopping her from letting him do anything and everything to her.

Well, nothing but the feeling in her stomach that was starting to make its way up her throat.

Kat pressed her hands against Harry’s chest to push him away, but she had no strength whatsoever. “Harry,” she gasped out as she kissed right below her ear. He hummed against her skin, kissing again. “Fuck, Harry, I’m gonna be sick.” She finally pushed him away and sprinted into the bedroom, just barely making it to the toilet before she vomited everything she had taken in.

After a moment of clearing his head, he followed her into the bathroom and sighed at the sight in front of him. She was leaned against the toilet, her legs crumpled underneath her with her eyes clenched closed.

“That was a bad idea,” she mumbled as she reached up to flush.

“What? The kiss or the tequila you took on an empty stomach?” Kat shot him a dirty look but he couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You alright?” he asked. He shuffled over to the floor beside her and sat down onto the cold tile. She groaned in response, forcing another laugh from Harry.

He sat there for a few moments, watching her as she breathed in softly, her head still leaned against the edge of the toilet. For a moment, he considered leaving. He would come back and check on her, of course, just like he did every night. He was screaming at himself to pick himself up off the floor and leave her there. That’s what he knew he should do, for the sake of both of them.

But this time, he didn’t do the smart thing. He hadn’t done the smart thing for a long time now, beginning with when he brought her back to the apartment instead of ending it all right then.

Harry huffed out a breath and titled his head back. As much as he hated to admit it, this girl was doing something to him. Louis was right, and he couldn’t stand it.

That was something he would take to his grave.

With a sigh, Harry stood up and slipped his arms around the wilted body on the floor. “Where...” She moaned softly, flopping her head over to rest against his shoulder when he cradled her to his body.

“I’m putting you to bed.” His voice was as gentle as he had ever heard himself, and it startled him. Honestly, most everything he said and did around her startled him these days. Earlier in the living room had been one of the worst things.

There were times where it made him angry. How _dare_ this girl- this _victim_ \- come into his life and ruin everything? How dare she have the audacity to force him to feel these things?

How dare she really not ruin anything at all?

Harry swallowed back the bitter taste of the alcohol that was making its way back up his throat. He knew it wasn’t because he had taken in too much; it was because he was working himself up with these thoughts, just like he had so many times before.

He could handle blood. He couldn’t handle the feeling of ripping the life from someone. He could handle the noises and sickening smell of death. That was easy.

What he couldn’t handle was the excruciating swell of his heart every time she done something the least bit endearing.

Like just then, when her eyes quivered open and he found himself biting harshly at the inside of his mouth. The metallic taste of blood assaulted his taste buds, but it was better than opening his mouth and saying something stupid.

Her cheeks were all red, as were the whites of her eyes, and she was clearly waste. She wouldn’t remember what he said if anything was to slip, but that’s not what he was worried about. _He_ would remember. He would remember the look on her face and possibly the stupid smile that she would return with and maybe even a reciprocation of whatever it was that he said. He would remember it all, and that would be worse.

Harry crossed the floor, the sound of his bare feet padding against the floor. It was the only sounds in the room, making it stand out almost unbearably. It was almost always a deathly quiet that surrounded them. Sometimes, Harry got annoyed with it, because he knew she was buzzing with questions and thoughts and it didn’t seem fair to scare her into locking them away. But he would rather than happen that lose himself even farther in whatever it was she was dragging him into.

He finally reached the bedside, and he gentle placed her on the sheets. As soon as his arms released her, he turned to exit the room, feeling a bit relieved.

But then, she just had to open her mouth. “Can’t sleep in these clothes. I got sick on them,” she said softly, sitting up the best she could. She pointed at two spots on her top and pants.

“Then change.” His voice was back to its rough tone, thankfully for him. His back was facing the bed, and he didn’t bother to turn around to look at her.

Kat sighed. “Could you grab ‘em for me? They’re right over there.”

The door was right there, too. It was actually closer to him than her clothes were, but it was fairly obvious at that point that nothing he was doing was going to make sense. He could blame it on the alcohol that was running through his system.

Harry grabbed a t-shirt and some of his athletic shorts from her bag and brought them over to her. “Thanksss,” she drawled. She grinned up towards him, and he cursed himself for not leaving her on the bathroom floor.

He went to turn away from her, but before he had the chance, she was stripping off her clothes and handing the soiled ones over to him. He was speechless for a moment. There she was, wearing nothing but her underwear and a bra, right in front of him as if he were some domestic boyfriend. The thought alone made him sick to his stomach.

She finally yanked her clean clothes on and unhooked her bra from underneath her shirt. That was the final item she handed to him. “Juuust... set them over there, please?” She smiled gratefully up towards him, and if she had been sober, she would have laughed at the crimson blush that crept to his cheeks.

It wasn’t embarrassment, but one more of frustration. He was frustrated with himself for letting this happen. He was frustrated for letting any bit of this happen. Not just the kiss and the drinking, but for her even being there in the first place. It could have all been handled quite easily at the beginning.

The worst thing about it, though, was that he had a hard time even thinking about killing her now. He wouldn’t let her know that, though.

He even tried to keep it from himself. He knew that wasn’t like himself to think like that. He knew it wasn’t normal. So, he told himself it was a fluke. A freak accident. And that’s what it would stay.

“I feel sick.” Her small voice came from behind him as he placed her clothes on the dresser.

 _That makes two of us,_ he thought.

“What if I throw up in bed?”

“Don’t.”

Even without looking at her, he knew she was rolling her eyes, probably a bit sloppier than normal because of the alcohol. “But what iiif?” she whined. “So sleepy.”

Harry was on a roll with the bad judgment calls. Why not add one more to the mix?

“Jesus Christ, scoot over.”

She did as she was told, scooting over to the left side of the bed, closest to the wall. Harry slid in beside her. There was a moment where neither one of them moved an inch, seeming to test the waters before finally relaxing. Kat let out a breath before rolling over to face him. Harry was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

“You look so tense,” she whispered. “I thought drinking wass supposed to relax a person.”

“It’s supposed to.”

Her lips pursed together in thought. She stared at him for a good long while, narrowing her eyes every now and then like she was attempting to solve the world’s hardest riddle. Finally, Harry couldn’t take it. He drew in a long breath and stared right back at her before shaking his head. “What is going on inside that head of yours?”

Kat blinked once. “What?”

“What the hell are you doing?... Are you trying to mess me up? Do you mean to do this to me?”

She looked shocked initially, but after a split second she smiled, her mouth falling open just barely to show her teeth. She was so beautifully wrecked, a mess of truths and drunken giggles. Harry’s heart burned. “What am I doing to you?” she tittered before squinting up at him.

Harry sighed, letting a laugh break through the air. “I don’t even know,” he replied regretfully.

“You’re a liiittle drunk.” Her great big grin shrunk to a small, knowing smile just before she rolled over on her other side. “Don’t think too hard. Get some sleep.” A stifled yawn slipped past her lips. “It’ll be better in the morning.”

It wasn’t long before she nodded off. Her breathing eased into a soft, lulling pattern, her back rising and falling rhythmically. He watched for minutes, hours, and he could have watched for days, it felt like. It was astonishing to him that she could fall asleep so easily after what had happened. He was still simmering, letting questions form and swallow him whole. But then again, maybe it was just him. Maybe he was overthinking it all.

Maybe he shouldn’t think too hard about it.

The warmth of her back burned against the side of his chest. It made him ache, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to push her away or grip her as close as possible. Harry had never been the type to indulge in acts of affection like this. If he was ever with a girl, it was mostly a one night thing, and he was gone the very next morning. He didn’t “cuddle” and he sure as hell never let girls fall asleep in his arms.

He let his eyes drift down to her body and sighed. Until now.

He didn’t know what she was doing to him. He didn’t like it, either. Something that started out so simple for him had him thinking in ways he never would have before, and it was all because of her.

She was just this stupid girl, and he was certain she was going to be the death of him, one way or another.

_I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, all alone in the bed. The memory was fuzzy at best, but there were parts that were as clear as day. Beside me, a few aspirin and a cup of water was waiting, and I knew at that moment that I wasn’t as crazy as I thought for feeling the way I did. I also had the sinking suspicion that I wasn’t alone in feeling that way._

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and kudos me to let me know what you think!


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